In subsequent seasons, he built the Cliffhanger Tube Chute, the Tunnel Tube Chute, and the 45-minute-long Raging River Tube Chute. It was a Sunday afternoon, August 7, 2016, the temperature a pleasant 78 degrees, as ten-year-old Caleb Schwab began the 264-step climb to the top of Verrckt, the world's tallest waterslide,. His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute. The two men were approached by producers from the Travel Channel who said they were looking for an episode to lead off the new season of their popular TV series, This was news to everyone, even at Schlitterbahn. A humid breeze presses down on the dead summer grass. Aug. 18 2016, Updated 8:24 a.m. Courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts; Retouching: Will Herwig, AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Jill Toyoshiba, A half century earlier, in 1966, a Houston accountant named Bob Henry told. Jeffs job was to fill the park with new attractions, and he didnt disappoint. Michelle continued: "There was a gentleman who wouldn't allow me to come close enough to see what was going on and kept saying: 'No, trust me. Jeff surveys his most extreme creation, Verrckt, shortly before it opens in 2014. . If the completed ride still didnt meet his expectations, hed tear it down and start over. The real Jeff Henry was not indicted. The family had strong ties in the city, including at the LifeMission Church on South Lone . Some experts believe that his death was because of the uneven distribution of weight. It lifted off the chute and went airborne, landing several yards away. Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab was decapitated while riding what has been dubbed the worlds tallest water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, police said. An investigator spoke to a seventeen-year-old lifeguard who said that Miles had ordered him to write a report that downplayed the severity of the Groves incident. From left: Jeff Henry with his father, Bob, mother, Billye, and siblings, Jana and Gary. You know the [raft] that went airborne on our ninety-footmodel in New Braunfels? The raft tipped forward. He stopped going to any of the Schlitterbahn parks he created, and the company laid off most of his design and construction staff. I always set out to break all the records. Article continues below advertisement But prosecutors for the Kansas attorney generals office persuaded a judge to lock down the ride. Jamie Lee Curtis upsets Angela Bassett at SAG Awards, Two FL beaches make Tripadvisors best of the best, Buffalo Wild Wings manager stole $72,000 from work:, Win $1M a year for life with new FL Lottery game, Where to find fish fries in Tampa Bay during Lent, Worlds largest bounce house coming to Tampa. Finally, in June 2014, after several successful sandbag runs, they decided it was time for humans to ride it. No one seemed to know, not even Jeff. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. "I looked over and saw his broken neck and him sliding down the slide leaving a blood trail," a witness aid.. Something went wrong, please try again later. An employee pushed a button, and the raft would take off. Police confirmed to TIME on Tuesday that the boy was decapitated in the accident. Caleb Schwab died six years ago in the tragedy at Schlitterbahn Park, in Kansas, on a water slide called Verruckt, which means crazy in German. For the most devoted fans, Schlitterbahn is an aquatic version of Disney World, with something for everyone, from huge playgrounds for children to swim-up bars for adults that serve beer and margaritas. No comment, Jeff said. To get even more ideas, he pored over the history of Roman aqueducts and leafed through Jules Verne novels. In 2016, An accident that could have been prevented happened in Schlitterbahn which caused the death of a 10-year-old boy; Caleb Schwab Sunday, the son of Scott Schwab, Kansas Representative. Once again, Jeff and his siblings had no public comment, though Prosapio released another statement that said that Schlitterbahn was shocked by the indictments. It was. of what decapitated the poor child, the blood pooling at the bottom and where his brother stood. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. (A single rider, lying on his back, shot straight down the slide, slowed during the long water brake, and finally came to a stop in a runout pool.) That boat looked like it flew., He and Schooley added an extra five feet of height to the second hill to slow riders down and decreased the angle of its descent. But it didn't, so I worked there. He was found dead at the bottom of the ride in a pool. His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute." Jesus. The Schwab family is mourning the death of their 10-year-old son, and the community is mourning as well. Caleb's family received nearly $20 million in . If you see a couple of people [go down the slide], you say its survivable, Schooley later told a reporter. So many Schlitterbahn customers wanted to go down the ride that park officials began requiring them to sign up for time slots. Before Jeffs arraignment, his 39-year-old daughter, Amber, from his first marriage, raced to a Walmart and purchased a suit for her father to wear. The Schwab family may also file a personal injury claim on behalf of Caleb. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. . He apparently enjoyed smoking pot. And a man named Norris J. I could die going down this ride., Jeff told me later that he was making such statements only at the behest of the TV producers. He stepped into the front of the raft, and an employee secured him to his seat with a Velcro belt and a shoulder strap. Bring on the Shiplap? The Wyandotte County coroners office conducted an autopsy on Monday but it is unclear whether they will publicly release the results. He had come to the park with his father, Scott, a state legislator; his mother, Michele; and his three brothers. A boy who was decapitated on a water slide is remembered five years on as witness accounts resurface about the mum having to be held back from seeing the horrific scene. He told his parents he had to try it. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. The Kansas House representative's 10-year-old son Caleb was decapitated in front of his . Something clicked in my head, and I just re. Schwab was elected Kansas secretary of state in November. I want to have the biggest, the tallest, and the fastest rides at my parks., Like his father, Gary, the eldest child, had a sharp, analytical mind. By 1990 Schlitterbahn had become a sensation, drawing nearly 500,000 people a year. As he walked out of the courthouse, his face ashen, a reporter asked if he had any training in engineering or physics. Children frolicked in watery playgrounds, teenagers lined up to ride the Boogie Bahn and the water coasters, and parents floated on the artificial rivers. | (Photo: Facebook) The Christian family of Republican Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab attended a worship service just hours before the lawmaker's 10-year-old son, Caleb, was decapitated on the Verrckt slide at the Schlitterbahn Death sentence in Kansas water slide case thrown out over boy's death As Caleb Schwab, 10, rode down the Verruckt waterslide in 2016, he was decapitated when the raft he was in went airborne. Since then, several witnesses have recalled the tragedy, but now the boy's father is breaking his silence. But with cameras still rolling, more sandbag-laden rafts continued to fly into the air. If any raft had left the surface, that ride should have been shut down, and I would have gone straight there to figure out what was wrong, he said. Jeff Henry often said that his goal in life was to make customers of his familys legendary water parks happyto put a smile on their faces, to give them a thrill or two. It was a beautiful vision. Few details have been released about the death Sunday of Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of a Kansas state legislator. A local TV station interviewed a former park lifeguard who said Verrckt had terrified him and his coworkers.We had to ride it three times before we actually opened the park every day, Nathan Campbell said. Investigators laterlearned, however, that Schlitterbahn employees were required to submit regular ops reports about the rides they monitored and, according to reports that the investigators read, Verrckt had problems that were never revealed to the public. You don't want to go any further'.". According to investigators, Miles hadnt even ordered repairs when a Schlitterbahn manager informed him, on July 15, 2016 (three weeks before Calebs death), that maintenance work on Verrckts brake system was a priority. He devised a complicated artificial river system that moved tubers from one major slide to the next so they would rarely need to leave the water to stand in line. The two sisters who had ridden behind Caleb, both of whom suffered facial injuries, also received a settlement, of an undisclosed amount. When the case goes to trial, which isnt likely to happen for at least another year, Jeffs and Schooleys attorneys might use that very argument: that the employees who operated Verrckt made mistakes, such as ignoring maintenance problems, and that Henry and Schooley knew nothing about it. Industry insiders said the Kansas City Schlitterbahn needed a joltsomething big, really bigthat would help it live up to the early hype and investment. As investigators continue to look for answers, chilling new video has emerged detailing the dangers of the worlds tallest waterslide. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264. A light breeze rattled the leaves. I was hired as an admissions cashiertaking payment and . His hope, he said, was to reconstruct the fatal ride exactly as it took place, assisted by a team of independent experts. Caleb Schwab Death: Source Reveals Horrific Details of Boy's Water Slide Accident By Associated Press Nationwide PUBLISHED 4:32 PM ET Aug. 10, 2016 KANSAS CITY, Kan. 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. When he was in meetings, he pulled off his boots and propped his bare feet up on the table. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. Caleb Schwab was decapitated in 2016, when the raft he was riding on the Verruckt waterslide went airborne and hit a metal pole supporting a safety net at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Police confirmed to TIME on Tuesday that the boy was decapitated in the accident. At the top of the platform, they were weighed again and placed in a raft. Bob loved the idea of a water park. Miles and the Kansas City Schlitterbahn itself were indicted for aggravated battery, aggravated endangerment of a child, interference with law enforcement, and involuntary manslaughter. Witnesses claimed he went down the first drop, then flew out and hit netting enclosing the ride. There are two Bible verses on the back of Caleb's headstone. The Travel Channel crew asked Jeff why the slide was not working. He told one reporter that Verrckt was an erotic piece of art and would go down in history as the most terrifying ride ever built in a water park. He told another reporter that he had conceived of Verrckt because he could no longer tolerate the thought of the worlds tallest slide being in Brazil. And he saw before anyone else what we could do in New Braunfels.. Later, some gruesome details were revealed about the boy's death. For a couple of minutes, I watched some kids zip down one of the chutes, grinning from ear to ear. It was surreal. Schwab was elected Kansas secretary of state in November. I think about all the great customers who choose to come to a Schlitterbahn to spend their family vacations. He never got a conventional education beyond high school and never formally studied physics or engineering. There is no single federal agency responsible for enforcing rules and regulations at Schlitterbahn, which is monitored by the states Department of Labor. Jeff, who has a streak of P.T. Barnum in him, suddenly blurted out that he and Schooley were going to build the worlds tallest and fastest waterslide at the Kansas City Schlitterbahn. According to Texas Department of Insurance spokesman Jerry Hagins, the inspector is charged only with making sure that the ride is in sound condition and meets the manufacturers specifications. In other words, a water park is allowed to police itself. It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes . Nor does the law require an inspector to evaluate the safety of such factors as the rides speed or the geometric angle of its slide path. Jana, the youngest, would attend what was then known as Southwest Texas State University, in nearby San Marcos, and major in fashion merchandising. Jeff never made any secret of how he built his rides. (Bob died in October 2016, after a long illness, and Billye died in her sleep last year.) That responsibility lies entirely with the states. Suddenly, it was hurtling downward: it must have felt to Caleb as if hed fallen off a skyscraper. Republican lawmaker Scott Schwab's son Caleb died on the Verruckt attraction, which means "insane" in German, and has been certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. Shocked theme park visitors were left traumatised after watching Caleb die. He sounded utterly distraught. Passengers board a three-person raft and experience a 17-story drop before being blasted back up a second massive hill to drop down another 50ft. Those were added later. Caleb Schwab, the son of a state lawmaker, sustained a fatal neck injury at around 2:30 p.m. while riding the 168-foot-tall Verruckt (meaning insane in German) water slide, the Associated Press reports. Jeff was wearing cowboy boots. Miles, then the operations director, hid or destroyed documents detailing injuries sustained by riders . When Caleb reached the top of the platform, he could see the sprawl of Kansas City, including the downtown skyline, some sixteen miles away. It was like, No, I dont want to do it.. I always set out to break all therecords, Jeff told USA Today. If we mess up, it could be the end. 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To slow the rafts velocity, Jeff and Schooley lessened the angle at the bottom of the initial drop. Thank you for bringing me here, he once said to his dad. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. During construction, the men had ordered that a net be placed above the chute, propped up every few feet by semicircular poles, to keep people from flying out. Im from Texas, he said later. "And he said, "Yes, your son is dead'. Within a few seconds, the raft reached the bottom of the hill and swooped up the second, 55-foot hill. These were Disneylike numbers. He asked the Henrys to build a Schlitterbahn water park in Wyandotte County, Kansas, which covers the western half of metro Kansas City. Gary and Jana agreed that Jeff should proceed with Verrckt. Turn them in during, However, the particular ride that killed a 10-year old boy Sunday remains closed, RELATED:Expert wants feds to regulate rides after 2 terrifying incidents, The Grinch is getting a sequel, plus other books, Everything you need to know about the Disney California, 13 stylish black tights to wear this winter, Bryant family gets $28.85M settlement over crash, Former clients of attorney speak about alleged wrongdoing, Rapper Kodak Black ordered into drug rehab by Florida, Restaurant worker sprayed hot grease on 2 workers:, FL lawmaker wants to get rid of the Democratic Party, Idaho victims sister names baby Theodora MaddieKay, Trustees eliminate diversity office at New College, Plant City High School band to fundraise during FL, Florida moves to expand Dont Say Gay law, Florida man buys $50 lottery game, wins $1M. The end enclosing the ride it down and start over to slow the rafts velocity Jeff... 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