{"id":10366,"date":"2016-08-08T12:43:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T12:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=10366"},"modified":"2016-08-08T13:19:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-08T13:19:51","slug":"kansas-boy-dies-on-world-tallest-water-slide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/kansas-boy-dies-on-world-tallest-water-slide.html","title":{"rendered":"Kansas Boy Dies on World Tallest Water Slide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kansas Boy Dies on World Tallest Water Slide<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kansas Boy Dies on World Tallest Water Slide<\/strong> : Like thousands before them, Kelsey Friedrichsen and Josh Foster had come to ride the Verruckt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The couple could see it loom over the flat eastern Kansas countryside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taller than Niagara Falls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Named after the German word for \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The largest water slide in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a warm day and Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kan., was busy. But as Friedrichsen and Foster approached the slide Sunday afternoon, they began to sense something was wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amid an unusually large crowd near the slide was a woman with blood streaking down her face.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe figured, maybe someone got thrown around on the ride or something,\u201d Foster told KCTV5.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then they saw a little boy, lying on the ground, not moving.<\/span><\/p>\n

As people wept, a paramedic covered the child with a white sheet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when it kicked in,\u201d Foster said. \u201cI started bawling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The boy was 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, the son of a state legislator. Police said the death appeared to be an accident. Park officials admitted Schwab died while riding the Verruckt but did not say how.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to local TV station KSHB, however, \u201cmore than one water park guest\u201d said the harnesses on the ride were not working Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Details of the incident were still hazy Sunday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Schlitterbahn spokeswoman promised \u201ca full investigation\u201d and said both the slide and the park had been shut until further notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe honestly don\u2019t know what\u2019s happened,\u201d Winter Prosapio told the Kansas City Star. \u201cThis is not something we\u2019ve experienced [before].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t the first time there have been safety concerns over the slide. Before it opened two years ago, the Verruckt had to be partially torn down and redesigned. According to USA Today, the changes were made after rafts flew off the slide at high speeds during test rides.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dangerous, but it\u2019s a safe dangerous now,\u201d ride co-creator and Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry told the newspaper in July 2014. \u201cSchlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn\u2019t a family ride. It\u2019s for the thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Friends and family members recalled Caleb as sweet-natured and fond of sports. A photo distributed by the Schwab family showed the freckled 10-year-old with a smile and a baseball bat slung over his shoulder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Caleb\u2019s father, Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab of Olathe, Kan., and mother Michele released a statement Sunday mourning the \u201csudden loss\u201d of their son.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with,\u201d the statement said. \u201cAs we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Schwabs were at Schlitterbahn as part of \u201cElected Official Day.\u201d The park was full of lawmakers and their families, who received free admission and lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was early afternoon when Caleb climbed the 264 steps to the top of the Verruckt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally, the slide required riders to be at least 14-years-old and 54-inches tall, but the age requirement was deemed unnecessary and eliminated, USA Today reported in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

That meant Caleb was cleared to ride.<\/span><\/p>\n

He climbed aboard a blue raft containing at least one, likely two other people. When a metal gate opened, he plummeted down the slide at roughly 60 miles per hour before hurtling up and over a second hill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWitnesses describe the boy going down the steep 168-foot drop of the world\u2019s tallest water slide Sunday afternoon, then going airborne over the next hill, colliding with a safety net,\u201d KSHB reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

A section of netting on the far side of the second hill was removed by a fire crew after the incident, presumably to preserve evidence. The blue raft was also taken into custody.<\/span><\/p>\n

KSHB reported that \u201cmore than one water park guest\u201d said the harness on the ride was not working before the incident.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lady in front of me said that multiple times she rode the ride today, the Verruckt, and that the front harness did not work any of the times that she rode it,\u201d Jessica Lundquist told the TV station.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lundquist said she rushed towards the ride as soon as she heard about the accident. Her two 12-year-olds were aboard the ride.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI freaked out. I ran full speed towards the slide, I was stopped and wasn\u2019t allowed to go past,\u201d she told Fox4.<\/span><\/p>\n

She saw \u201cshell-shocked tears, moms crying.\u201d Soon, she discovered that the child involved was not hers.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was Caleb.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u2018I can\u2019t believe what I just saw\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kelsey Friedrichsen and Josh Foster had registered to ride Verruckt minutes after Caleb. As they approached the slide, however, they saw an injured woman.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was bleeding,\u201d Friedrichsen told KCTV. \u201cThere was a lot of blood coming from her face.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The injured woman\u2019s identity was unclear Sunday night. Park officials did not mention her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Friedrichsen and Foster realized that the situation was even more serious when they saw Schwab\u2019s body on the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst responders started covering it up with a white sheet,\u201d Friedrichsen said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The accident left other park-goers shaken.<\/span><\/p>\n

About to spend the day relaxing in the pool,\u201d Sierra Lairson had tweeted earlier several hours earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI literally saw a kid die at schlitterbahn today,\u201d she wrote minutes after the accident. \u201cI\u2019m so freaked out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless that kid\u2019s family,\u201d she continued. \u201cI can\u2019t believe what I just saw.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More messages of support arrived after Caleb\u2019s identity was released Sunday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur prayers are with the family of Rep. Scott Schwab today with the tragic and sudden loss of their young son,\u201d tweeted Gov. Sam Brownback.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2018Nobody\u2019s ever going to come out of the ride\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff Henry was at a trade show when he decided he wanted to build the tallest, fastest water slide in the world, according to CNN.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe world\u2019s largest slide had been in Brazil, and we couldn\u2019t have that,\u201d he told USA Today. \u201cI\u2019m from Texas, it was a matter of pride.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Henry reportedly chose Kansas City because of its lax height restrictions.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Verruckt was easier to envision than to operate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The slide was completed and certified the tallest by the Guinness Book of World Records in April of 2014, only for it to be immediately dismantled.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cinsane\u201d ride was reportedly too true to its name.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTest video shows rafts and sandbags ramping off the Hill and in some cases hitting and damaging the slide below,\u201d USA Today reported. \u201cRumors of test riders going airborne circulated on social media, but only sandbags were sacrificed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, speculation became so widespread that \u201ctesting was conducted after dark to avoid media helicopters that had been buzzing the park after hours,\u201d the newspaper reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem was the hill. To prevent riders from going airborne, the hill was increased in height and the angle of the drop was softened to reduce speed, according to USA Today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Height, weight and age restrictions were put in place to prevent accidents, although the age restriction was eventually withdrawn. According to Schlitterbahn\u2019s website, each raft must have two or three riders weighing a combined 400-550 pounds, with no single rider over 300 pounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Safety nets were also installed around the entire ride.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to always know that nobody\u2019s ever going to come out of the ride,\u201d Henry told the Star.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riders seemed to agree with his description of the huge slide as \u201csafe dangerous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the most amazing ride I\u2019ve ever ridden,\u201d Doug Flora, who snagged the first raft on VIP day, told the Star. \u201cAnd it felt safe from beginning to end.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure we had air,\u201d said Corey Smith the next day, when the park officially opened. (A park official told the Star that the ride only felt that way, and the rafts do not go airborne.)<\/span><\/p>\n

After Sunday\u2019s accident, some locals pointed to the water slide\u2019s early safety problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou think your kids are safe, but they\u2019re not,\u201d Lundquist told KSHB.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust imagine, you come here to have fun, celebrate fun times,\u201d she told Fox4. \u201cWe came here for a birthday party. We are leaving with a death.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/strong><\/span> : https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/08\/08\/insane-tragedy-kansas-boy-dies-on-worlds-tallest-water-slide\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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