Paul Oberhauser told CBS News that his safety belt came off while riding with a friend and his 9-year-old son about two weeks ago. Soon, Derek MacKay, an attorney representing Schlitterbahn, allegedly showed up to the lifeguards home and would later lie to both the lifeguards mother and the detective in an attempt to get a copy of the police report. Its still here, and its been two years.. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. "Not only had Tyler ridden the slide numerous times, but, as the State is aware, he had scheduled his wife, to ride it on the day of the accident," the attorneys, Tom and Tricia Bath, said in their statement. Meanwhile, an online fund has raised more than $25,000 to cover funeral expenses for the family. Whatever the investigators discover, the news will come too late for Caleb Schwab; a kid who just wanted to try out a big, cool water slide. The prosecution and the defense have both rested their case in the Schlitterbahn trial regarding the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab in August 2016. Miles's attorneys declined to be interviewed. What unfolded next could be viewed today as an instance of Henrys obsession with being the best. The death of a 10-year-old at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas was even more devastating than could have been imagined with witnesses confirming that tragic child Caleb Schwab was decapitated while riding down the 168-foot-tall Verrckt slide! Given that safety is our first priority we have closed our Kansas City park and have closed the ride pending a full investigation. Two horrified witnesses have spoken out about the gruesome scene when a boy was decapitated by the world's largest waterslide. Its dangerous, but its a safe dangerous now, Henry told USA Today in the lead-up to the opening. Esteban Castaneda, who was at the waterpark at the time of the incident said there were several loud bangs that came from the ride before a body washed down the slide after a raft. The company also promised to aggressively fight the criminal charges against Miles and the park, and respond to the allegations in the 47-page indictment "point by point.". Yet, on the eve of the grand opening, for reasons that remain unclear, the imposed age restriction was eliminated, ultimately allowing younger kids, such as Caleb Schwab, to ride Verrckt. Jess Stanford and Melanie Gocke were at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, on the same day a ten-year-old boy was killed on the 17-storey ride last week. NOW. RELATED: Water park, ex-employee charged in 10-year-old's 2016 death on ride, Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said in a statement that considering last week's indictment, the company is not surprised by Henry's arrest. That is insane. The 370-acre (1.5 km 2 ), $750 million development included a nearly 40-acre (160,000 m 2) waterpark, which is Schlitterbahn's fourth waterpark and its first outside Texas . Winter Prosapio, spokesperson for Schlitterbahn, said the boy died on the Verruckt water slide, which is promoted as the worlds tallest water slide. In March 2014, Linda Stomboly. Neither were related to Schwab, but his parents were with him at the park that day. Police have now released information about what caused the Schlitterbahn accident, but it can hardly offer any sort of relief to his poor parents. Castaneda said a lifeguard was trying to control the crowd as he tried to help but soon it seemed apparent that the boy had been decapitated. Republican Scott Schwab's son Caleb was killed while ridingon the Verruckt attraction at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City with witnesses saying a lifeguard was desperately trying to hold back crowds from the gruesome scene. As he looked down, he says he saw the young boy who appeared to have been decapitated. Schlitterbahn was sued by Linda Stomboly in March 2014. My thoughts are with the boy's family and anyone who witnessed this. Authorities initially said the victim was 12 years old, but Clint Sprague, a pastor acting as the family's spokesman, said Caleb was 10 and is one of the couple's four sons. Henry entered a not guilty plea and rarely spoke during the hearing. But that wasnt the only thing that unsettled her. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were cancelled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide. The child was riding on the Verruckt water slide when he died. Standing on a platform more than 168 feet high and overlooking the flat entirety of the Kansas plains, Jess Sanford was scared. I was pretty shocked to see the approach they took when designing, building, and maintaining the Verrckt, said Deborah Hersman, former president and CEO of the National Safety Council. Records show that Jeffrey Henry, co-owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was booked into the jail in Cameron County, Texas. Henry, best known locally for designing the Verruckt water slide in Kansas City, Kansas, that caused the death of a young boy, faces up to 57 months in prison if he violates his probation. I want to be the first at the bar to buy a drink and I want to be the first to meet a pretty girl and I want to be the first at everything.. It was announced in September 2005 by Schlitterbahn Waterparks. (An) outside, inside investigation will be underway, and it will be a complete one To be honest, this is not something we've experienced.". Accidental death at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City. Just watching videos of this ride, thing looks crazy. David Alvey, the current mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, told KSHB that he still thinks Schlitterbahn has been a good investment for the area. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. He said he had to grip the handles using his legs and told park staff what happened once he got down. (The state's assistant attorney general refuted Schlitterbahn's suggestion that the grand jury was "too stupid to discern a television show for evidence. Jess Stanford and Melanie Gocke were at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, on the same day a ten-year-old boy was killed on the 17-storey ride last week. Schlitterbahn is a family waterpark, but this isnt a family ride., On July 10, 2014, the slide opened to the public. I remember watching the TV show last year of them building it and having to re-profile it a couple of times due to the dummies flying out of the tube and chute. "They realised that he was dead, so I don't think they tried to revive him," Sanford said. is it more than what the article is mentioning some where else? Riders go down the worlds tallest water slide named Verruckt at Schlitterbahn Waterpark, in Kansas City, Kansas on July 9, 2014. I have been very intimidated of this ride since I saw that video of the tests where the boats were flying to the moon. That is absolutely not what we would expect., Delays would creep in and cause a massive redesign that would stretch into 2014. "I didn't understand what was going on so I only saw Caleb sliding down the last half of the slide, and then I saw the blood," Sanford said. They were prepared to make a very substantial financial investment in the state of Kansas, and that always gets legislators attention, Sloan told Esquire of Schlitterbahn. Paul Oberhauser who visited the park two weeks ago told CBS News that his velcro safety belt came off while riding with a friend and his 9-year-old son about two weeks ago, An image shows netting being removed from a portion of the ride following the tragic incident on Sunday. Prosapio said Schlitterbahn does not expect any changes to the Kansas City park's season, which is set to open May 25 and run through Labor Day. Are you a high school dropout? The death seemed like an isolated accident until whistleblowers from Schlitterbahn revealed that experts . Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). About 2,100 people took the courses last year, according to the Red Cross. Kansas City Police confirmed Caleb (pictured) had died from a 'fatal neck injury at the end of the ride', The youngster was just ten years old when he was killed in the horrific accident. As soon as his raft hit that first drop, the velocity of the fall caused Dueass strap to come flying off. View our online Press Pack. All of the regulations are really done at the state and local level with respect to amusement parks and waterparks. Sanford immediately realized the fear she nervously joked about hours prior was beginning to unfold in real time. The park was hit with fines of $96,000 although they settled for $66,000. (Brownback, now the U.S. ambassador for International Religious Freedom, declined to be interviewed.) Schlitterbahn's Verruckt waterslide in Kansas City is . Calebs parents, Kansas State legislator Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele, released a statement on Sunday night remembering their freckle-faced little boy. It opened in 2010, one of five water parks operated by the New Braunfels, Texas-based corporation, Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts. ] He followed up that same day: I have to micro manage this. She claimed there were no lifeguards on duty at the time to help and she had to be saved from the water by waterpark customers. During the former employees final summer in 2014, the one in which Verrckt was set to open, the lifeguard remembered how Schlitterbahn tended to do the test runs after the park closed at 6 p.m., away from the public. From what I have read on Twitter it seems that a small child (12 years old) was decapitated while riding Verruckt. There, Schlitterbahn was born. Neither Egan nor Dueas has been back since, but Dueas said he isnt opposed to it. I wonder if it ended up there by accident or was it pulled off the ride in the aftermath? (The same consultant would later advise Henry that the ride was unfinished and unsafe.) Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Tracking the drought: Map shows conditions across SF Bay Area, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, Water park, ex-employee charged in 10-year-old's 2016 death on ride, Gruesome details revealed in boy's water slide death at Kansas park, Witness Describes 'Horrific Scene' at Water Park After Boy Died. A Wyandotte County judge on Friday dismissed all charges against Schlitterbahn Waterpark officials, saying he found multiple abuses by the Kansas Attorney General's Office in the grand jury. Schlitterbahns flagship in New Braunfels, as well as its parks in Kansas City and South Padre Island. Jeff Henry, Schlitterbahns co-owner, and John Schooley, the rides lead designer, are facing second-degree murder charges. A former lifeguard who spoke with Esquire saw firsthand the issues with not just the record-breaking slide, but also the work culture at the Kansas City park. He did, however, grant an interview to a local Fox affiliate several months after the second anniversary of Calebs death. Statement will be out at 4:30 pm central time. The thought of this is making me sick! I just need to hear you say it: Is my son dead? Schwab reportedly remembered asking someone at the scene. The blueprints for the once-projected $750 million development made the sprawling attraction look like something never before seen outside Disney, let alone at a water park. The Associated Press contributed to this story. The police are working with the park on the investigation. The safety of our guests is a priority, so in addition to the safety and what happened on the ride, our staff are affected. Caleb Thomas. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were canceled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide. His work has appeared in outlets such as the Atlantic, New York magazine, and the Undefeated. Miles' attorneys said in their own statement that they welcome the opportunity to prove his innocence in court. His case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In April 2017, the Kansas legislature, following an impassioned speech from Calebs father, strengthened a law on amusement-ride inspections that previously allowed amusement-park operators to not share private inspections with state officials, giving the state one of the weakest sets of regulations nationwide. Because of heavy demand, rides are scheduled by reservation at the time the park opens each day. What made me say that was that the sandbags that were being tested kept flying off the rafts. (The anecdote was corroborated in the reporting from the July story in Texas Monthly. When the raft pushed off, the seventy-three-pound Schwab was in the front seat.Sanford was eating a funnel cake with her back to the slide when she heard a noise, almost as if a ride had derailed. Kansas City Police confirmed the boy had died froma 'fatal neck injury at the end of the ride, in the pool'. According to People . 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