A 12-year-old boy’s haunting words after his 10-year-old brother was ‘decapitated’ on a waterslide advertised as the tallest in the world have been revealed.
Caleb Schwab was 10 when he and his family, consisting of father Scott, mother Michele, and older brother Nathan, traveled to Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City.
One of the park’s most famous attractions was the Verrückt a towering water slide that once held the title of the tallest in the world. Named after the German word for “crazy,” Verrückt was the brainchild of designer John Schooley and soared to a staggering height of 168 feet and 7 inches (51.38 meters).
Thrill-seekers who dared to ride it would plunge down a 17-story drop before surging over a 55-foot-high hump. To keep riders secure, the slide was enclosed in netting, supported by metal poles positioned along the track.
But in 2016, the unimaginable happened. Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab tragically lost his life while riding the slide. Propelled by the immense force, Caleb was thrown into the overhead netting, where he struck one of the metal poles in a horrific accident that resulted in his decapitation.
“It was as horrible a moment as you could imagine,” a witness told Texas Monthly two years later. “I can’t begin to describe it.”
Caleb’s 12-year-old brother, Nathan, was waiting at the bottom of the slide when the tragedy unfolded. It was Nathan who first told their parents what had happened.
“He was screaming, ‘He flew from the Verrückt! He flew from the Verrückt!’” their mother, Michele, recalled in a 2017 interview with ABC News.
As she rushed to the scene, a bystander stopped her from getting too close. “There was a gentleman who wouldn’t let me go any further,” she said. “He just kept saying, ‘Trust me, you don’t want to go any further.’”
Deep down, Michele knew the truth. “I kind of knew in my mind that I shouldn’t see it,” she said. “That I probably don’t want to see it.” tallest
Following the heartbreaking tragedy, the Schwab family reached a confidential settlement with the former owners of the water park.
In a statement, the family’s attorneys announced: “All claims against the local amusement park as well as the raft manufacturer have been resolved. The family continues to pursue claims against Henry & Sons, a Texas-based company that constructed Verrückt, along with a consultant who evaluated the ride before it opened to the public.”
Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts also issued a public statement, saying they were “heartbroken” over the incident.
“In our 50 years of providing a place for families and friends to come together, we’ve never experienced such a devastating event,” the statement read. “The safety of our guests and staff has always been our top priority. As parents and grandparents, many of us rode Verrückt with our own children and grandchildren during its operation.”
“We take safety extremely seriously and support strong guidelines to protect both guests and staff.”
Schlitterbahn Waterpark permanently closed in September 2018.
