Updated Aug. 9, 9:35 a.m.:
The 10-year-old boy who died after riding the Verrückt water slide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas — which is the tallest water slide in the world — was decapitated, according to news reports.
PEOPLE reported that Caleb had suffered a “neck injury,” and that police said he was decapitated. His body was found at the bottom of the slide, in the pool.
Caleb had been riding in the raft with two unrelated adult women (the raft holds three people); the women had minor facial injures, the Kansas City Star reported.
There are still many unanswered questions about how Caleb’s death occurred, including whether he had been “ejected” from the raft, or injured while still riding the raft, or if the ride had malfunctioned somehow, according to the Kansas City Star.
PEOPLE reported that Verrückt, which opened in 2014, had actually had a delayed release because of problems with the ride, including an issue where the rafts would fly into the air.
Previously:
A 10-year-old boy was killed after riding the world’s tallest waterslide in Kansas City, Kansas.
Caleb Schwab died after riding the Verrückt, which translates to “insane” in German, at the Schlitterbahn Water Park. USA Today reports that the slide, in which riders go down a 169-foot drop at 65 mph, and the water park are closed and under investigation.
The police haven’t revealed further details about the accident, including if Caleb fell off the ride. Patrons go down the slide in three-person rafts and are strapped in across the waist and shoulders. However, some people told news outlets that the safety measures weren’t working properly that day. “A lady in front of me said that multiple times she rode the ride today, the Verrückt, and that the front harness did not work any of the times that she rode it,” Jessica Lundquist told KSHB.
Caleb is the son of state lawmaker Rep. Scott Schwab and was attending the Schlitterbahn as a part of “Elected Officials Day.” “Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those who he came into contact with,” his parents said in a statement published by CNN. “As we try and mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in his savior, Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day.”
[Source:- Teen Vogue]
