Kansas Lawmaker's 10-Year-Old Son Dies on World's Tallest Waterslide
On Sunday, the 10-year-old son of a Kansas state representative was killed at a water park in Kansas City, Kansas, while riding a 17-story water slide billed as the tallest in the world, CNN reports. At the time, the park was celebrating Elected Officials Day, granting free admission to lawmakers and their families.
In a statement, the Schlitterbahn water park said that the child later identified as Caleb Schwab, son of legislator Scott Schwab, died on the 168-foot-tall Verrückt water slide, but offered no other information. From The Kansas City Star:
[Park spokesperson Winter] Prosapio could not say whether the boy fell from the slide or was even aboard a raft when fatally injured.
“We honestly don’t know what’s happened,” Prosapio said. “That’s why a full investigation is necessary. We have to understand what’s happened. The Fire Department, of course, is here. (An) outside, inside investigation will be underway, and it will be a complete one. … To be honest, this is not something we’ve experienced.”
According to BuzzFeed, the popular water slide was redesigned due to safety concerns before opening to the public in 2014.
“It’s dangerous, but it’s a safe dangerous now,” Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry told USA Today at the time. “Schlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn’t a family ride. It’s for the thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.”
Schlitterbahn, which will remain closed on Monday, says it has shut the ride down indefinitely pending a full investigation.