This day in history: On this day in 2016, Caleb Schwab, the 10-year-old son of Kansas state representative Scott Schwab, died while riding Verrückt, the world's tallest water slide at Schlitterbahn Kansas City. The raft he was riding went airborne during the ascent of the second hump and impacted a metal support of the netting, decapitating him. The other two passengers, both women, were injured in the incident – one suffered a broken jaw, while the other suffered a facial bone fracture and needed stitches. In the immediate aftermath, Schlitterbahn Kansas City was closed pending an inspection. Although the park reopened three days later, the ride remained closed.
Reportedly, Caleb, who weighed 74 pounds, had been allowed to sit in the front of the raft, rather than between the two women accompanying him – one weighed 275 pounds, while the other weighed 197 pounds. This created an uneven weight distribution, which some experts concluded may have contributed to the raft going airborne, though the total weight of 546 pounds was less than the maximum recommended weight of 550 pounds. Engineers who inspected the ride also commented that the ride's netting, used in areas where riders travel up to 70 miles per hour, "posed its own hazard because a rider moving at high speeds could easily lose a limb if they hit it". Their findings revealed that the use of the metal brace and netting system in the design, along with the use of hook and loop straps to restrain the riders, violated guidelines set by ASTM F-24 Committee on Amusement Ride and Devices. According to the guidelines, Verrückt should have incorporated the use of a rigid over-the-shoulder restraint for riders, and an upstop mechanism to prevent the rafts from going airborne.
The ride was demolished in 2018.
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