Kansas City theme park indicted over child’s death
A Kansas grand jury indicted Schlitterbahn water park company and its former operations director for involuntary manslaughter in the horric death of a young boy in 2016.
Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab died after being decapitated riding on the Verruckt water slide.
The formerl director of operations for Schlitterbahn Vacation Village in Kansas City, Tyler Austin Miles, will also face charges that carry more than 10 years in prison and $300,000 in fines.
The charges include involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and reckless endangerment of a child.
Caleb Schwab was the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab.
Verrukt, which translates as ‘insane,’ rises to a height of 170 feet.
The indictment details a series of blunders over initial design flaws of the ride, maintaining safety standards and covering up previous injuries sustained on the ride.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the company knew the ride was potentially dangerous.
"This child’s death and the rapidly growing list of injuries were foreseeable and expected outcomes. Verruckt’s designers and operators knew that Verruckt posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or severe bodily harm."
"Verruckt suffered from a long list of dangerous design flaws; however, the most obvious and potentially lethal flaw was that Verruckt’s design guaranteed that rafts would occasionally go airborne in a manner that could severely injure or kill the occupants," the indictment said.
Schlitterbahn is a family owned company which also operates four parks in Texas.
"Our staff, since we opened Schlitterbahn Kansas City, has demonstrated the highest dedication to safety, from the training of our lifeguards and ride operators, to ensuring all rides have operated in accordance with our strict protocols," the company said in statement.
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