10-year-old Kansas boy was decapitated in gruesome accident on world’s tallest water slide
- 8 years ago
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS — A Kansas City water park has reopened mere days after a 10-year-old boy was decapitated while riding the world’s tallest water slide.
A number of bystanders witnessed the bloody incident, and say the horrific scene was one they will never forget.
WPVI reports that Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, went on the Verruckt slide at the Schlitterbahn water park on Sunday afternoon. He was in the front seat of a three-passenger raft with two other women, with only a velcro strap securing him during the slide’s 168-foot vertical drop.
The strap reportedly came off during the ride, ejecting the boy from the raft. He likely bounced around the netting and the slide, and was gruesomely decapitated as a result.
Bystanders who witnessed the incident told CNN that the raft he’d been riding in slid to the bottom of the ride first, followed by a river of blood and Schwab’s lifeless body.
The two other passengers on Schwab’s raft received minor facial injuries.
The Verruckt by Schlitterbahn as the “world’s tallest waterslide,” reaching speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. This is not the ride’s first reported problem. Rafts reportedly flew off the slide during early test runs.
Surprisingly, the ride passed a safety inspection from an insurance company just two months ago, according to KCCI. This, despite numerous complaints from riders that the straps were flimsy and often came loose.
The Verruckt ride has been closed for the rest of the season, but the Schlitterbahn water park remains open despite apparently being grossly negligent of its guests’ safety.
A number of bystanders witnessed the bloody incident, and say the horrific scene was one they will never forget.
WPVI reports that Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, went on the Verruckt slide at the Schlitterbahn water park on Sunday afternoon. He was in the front seat of a three-passenger raft with two other women, with only a velcro strap securing him during the slide’s 168-foot vertical drop.
The strap reportedly came off during the ride, ejecting the boy from the raft. He likely bounced around the netting and the slide, and was gruesomely decapitated as a result.
Bystanders who witnessed the incident told CNN that the raft he’d been riding in slid to the bottom of the ride first, followed by a river of blood and Schwab’s lifeless body.
The two other passengers on Schwab’s raft received minor facial injuries.
The Verruckt by Schlitterbahn as the “world’s tallest waterslide,” reaching speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. This is not the ride’s first reported problem. Rafts reportedly flew off the slide during early test runs.
Surprisingly, the ride passed a safety inspection from an insurance company just two months ago, according to KCCI. This, despite numerous complaints from riders that the straps were flimsy and often came loose.
The Verruckt ride has been closed for the rest of the season, but the Schlitterbahn water park remains open despite apparently being grossly negligent of its guests’ safety.