Boy was decapitated on waterslide at Kansas park says Source

[Tennis]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 10-year-old boy was decapitated as he rode a 168-foot tall waterslide at a water park in Kansas, a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak about the boy's death, told The Associated Press that Caleb Schwab was decapitated Sunday on the "Verruckt" raft ride at the Schlitterbahn WaterPark in Kansas City, Kansas.

Caleb, the son of a Kansas lawmaker, was in a raft with two women who were not related to him when he was killed. The women were treated for facial injuries.

A spokeswoman for the waterpark on Wednesday declined to discuss the circumstances of Caleb's death. The Guinness World Records has certified the ride as the tallest in the world.

At least two people who recently rode on "Verruckt" — German for "insane" — have said nylon shoulder straps came loose during the ride. It's unclear whether the straps played any role in Caleb's death. Police and Schlitterbahn have not provided any other details.

The park said Tuesday that "a limited portion" of the park would reopen Wednesday, but that "Verruckt" will be closed for the rest of the season.

"Verruckt" riders sit in multi-person rafts that begin with a steep drop, followed by a surge up a second hill before a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. Each "Verruckt" rider must be at least 54 inches tall, and the combined body weight of the riders on each raft is limited to 400 to 550 pounds.

Riders are harnessed in with two nylon seatbelt-like straps — one that crosses the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap is held in place by long Velcro-style straps, not by buckles. Riders also hang on to ropes inside the raft.

Ken Martin, a Richmond, Virginia-based amusement park safety consultant, questioned whether the straps were appropriate, suggesting that a more solid restraint system that fits over the body — similar to those used in roller coasters — may have been better.

In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half the ride and reconfigure some angles. A promotional video about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill.

"I think ... they figured since stuff was flying out, we better do something to keep people from flying out," said Martin, who has not seen or tested the ride. "I think we have a serious issue with the restraint system. Period."

Jon Rust, a professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State University, said the material used on the straps, commonly called hook and loop, isn't designed to keep a person in the seat. It also can degrade with use.

"It's got to be used in a safe manner, and that doesn't include stopping someone's fall or preventing someone's ejection," Rust said.

Paul Oberhauser told television station KCTV that his shoulder restraint "busted loose" on his Verruckt raft July 26. The Nebraska man said he "just held on," and a video shot by his wife shows the strap loose at the ride's end. Oberhauser said he reported the matter to park workers.

Kenneth Conrad told WDAF-TV that during his trip down the waterslide last year with a friend, the friend's shoulder strap came "completely off." Conrad's wife snapped a photo at the end of the ride showing the strap missing. Conrad didn't file a complaint with the park.

Police are investigating the death as a criminal case although police spokesman Cameron Morgan said Tuesday that designation did not mean they suspect foul play.

Schlitterbahn in Kansas City has been sued for negligence at least three times — all in 2014 — though none of those legal actions involved the waterslide. Two lawsuits involved mishaps on the 3,000-foot King Kaw inner tube ride in man-made rapids and the third involved a man who said he caught his toe on a surfing ride and fell on his face. All of the cases were settled out of court for undisclosed sums.

Caleb's parents — Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele — have requested privacy and have not spoken publicly since the death of Caleb, whose funeral is Friday.

Verruckt's 2014 opening repeatedly was delayed, though the operators didn't explain why. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were canceled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls the 100-pound rafts to the top.

Kansas statutes governing amusement rides don't specifically mention waterslides. State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that a permanent amusement ride must be scrutinized at least once a year by "a qualified inspector."

Regulations require only that owners of permanent amusement rides retain records for a year and rides are randomly selected quarterly for a records audit.

Documents released Tuesday by the state department showed that in June 2012, a records audit found that the park was not maintaining records of testing for current and previous years. The report said that instead of such testing, "visual inspections are conducted annually and daily." There was no record of a state response, and the audit was marked "pass."

There were no indications of further records audits, and department officials did not immediately answer questions about why that was so.

The state requested documentation from Schlitterbahn "to ensure all safety requirements have been followed." Department officials didn't immediately provide additional details.

http://tdn.com/news/national/source-...fff811fda.html

Wow. What a terrible way to go. It must have been really difficult for the family and first responders.
I wonder if it's time to look into closing down the ride and throwing serious prison time at those responsible.

[Deleted]

do we have a video ? i am out of porn

[the game]

They should get the electric chair for this.

[Zelorra]

There's only one rule to not die in a stupid way: don't put yourself in a stupid situation...

[Tijuana]

http://tdn.com/news/national/source-...fff811fda.html

Wow. What a terrible way to go. It must have been really difficult for the family and first responders.
I wonder if it's time to look into closing down the ride and throwing serious prison time at those responsible.

Wow, are you really trolling this story? This happened in my town and I'm not amused by you posting paired with a troll question. You know damn well no place on this planet can you be jailed for negligence. So get off it. I mean we all enjoy a good troll now and again but, decapitated children seems like a poor taste decision.

That said, zero people in our city were surprised at this. That slide looked dangerous to everyone, and many kids were not permitted to ride it.

[Milchshake]

Does Kansas have any safety agencies anymore, or did Brownback fire them all in the name of smaller government? This sounds like a amusement park only Ayn Rand could love.

God works in mysterious ways.

[WskyDK]

Internal decapitation I hope.
Bad enough to see a kid die, worse so if it's messy

[Herbert]

this is old news.

[Tijuana]

this is old news.

It happened Sunday....

[Azadina]

Well, the article doesn't even explain how it happened. Just that he's riding down with two others, and then one moment only he of the 3 is decapitated... Like, what?

[Celista]

People should be cautious about roller coasters/water slides...yes millions of people ride them each year and for 99.99% of them nothing happens, however these stories pop up for every water/amusement park everywhere. On a regular basis.

Statistically speaking you're not likely to be a statistic, but someone somewhere is going to be.

Of course you're probably more likely to get into an auto accident on the way to the water park than get into an injury while on a water ride, but that's a story for another day.

[Alnilam81]

Wow, are you really trolling this story? This happened in my town and I'm not amused by you posting paired with a troll question. You know damn well no place on this planet can you be jailed for negligence. So get off it. I mean we all enjoy a good troll now and again but, decapitated children seems like a poor taste decision.

That said, zero people in our city were surprised at this. That slide looked dangerous to everyone, and many kids were not permitted to ride it.

Urmmm, you can be jailed for negligence in the UK, and I would make a guess numerous other places too, and rightly so.

[Noxx79]

Does Kansas have any safety agencies anymore, or did Brownback fire them all in the name of smaller government? This sounds like a amusement park only Ayn Rand could love.

God works in mysterious ways.

No state agencies are required to inspect amusement rides after they're built. They are required to have them inspected by someone with a license (which usually works for the amusement company)

Something something regulations putting small carnivals out of business.

[Milchshake]

No state agencies are required to inspect amusement rides after they're built. They are required to have them inspected by someone with a license (which usually works for the amusement company)

Something something regulations putting small carnivals out of business.

Maybe they could put the NRA in charge of amusement park safety. I'm sure a good-guy-with-a-gun could have stopped this.

[Tijuana]

Guys, everything was inspected. It was the engineering that was questionable. They said it was unsafe due to rafts going over the side (due to the high speed, they take flight), so they added netting. The problem is things can get caught in the netting, as we see here.

[Noxx79]

Well, the article doesn't even explain how it happened. Just that he's riding down with two others, and then one moment only he of the 3 is decapitated... Like, what?

Since it's a local story for me, I seem to get a little more info, BUT the company is (understandably) keeping a VERY tight lid on any details.

What it SOUNDS like from witnesses and whatnot is that the strap holding the front rider in (as the kid was the lightest, he'd be in front), broke or came loose and he was ejected from from the raft thing, hit the netting at the top of the first slope and then was drug behind the raft the rest of the way down.

[Tennis]

Wow, are you really trolling this story? This happened in my town and I'm not amused by you posting paired with a troll question. You know damn well no place on this planet can you be jailed for negligence. So get off it. I mean we all enjoy a good troll now and again but, decapitated children seems like a poor taste decision.

That said, zero people in our city were surprised at this. That slide looked dangerous to everyone, and many kids were not permitted to ride it.

Accusing someone of trolling is against the rules.

You are also wrong. I've seen people get jailed for negligence before.

[Herbert]

It happened Sunday....

so my post is valid then.

[AeneasBK]

You know damn well no place on this planet can you be jailed for negligence.

*shrug* I certainly didn't know this and am pretty convinced it's false...

[bladeXcrasher]

Already a thread on this, search next time.