Funny Inner Tube Crash at Water Park Slide Funny
A water slide hyped as the world's highest was a "deadly weapon" that had already injured more than a dozen people before a 10-year-old boy was decapitated on it, according to a United States grand jury indictment.
Key points:
- Indictment says the raft used by the 10-year-old was known to go faster and become airborne
- Company co-owner accused of rushing the slide into use to impress TV show
- Park owners say their investigations have never shown evidence of criminal conduct
The water park operator and an executive have been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the 2016 incident.
The indictment said the Verruckt water slide raft at Kansas City's Schlitterbahn Waterpark "went airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting" designed to keep riders from being thrown from the slide.
Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab was killed and two women also on the raft were left severely injured.
A video showed Caleb was following all rider instructions when he died.
His death seemed like an isolated accident until whistleblowers from the water park revealed experts who examined the slide found evidence indicating other rafts had gone airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting before the fatality, according to the indictment.
Investigators found 13 injuries to others during the 182 days the ride operated — including two concussions and one case where a 15-year-old girl went temporarily blind.
Corporate correspondence found "the child's death and the rapidly growing list of injuries were foreseeable and expected outcomes".
The water park operators also knew the raft Caleb and the women rode on was prone to go faster and become airborne more than others, according to the indictment.
It said the raft had been removed twice in 2016, but quickly put back into circulation.
Ride 'rushed into use' with 'no engineer involvement'
The indictment alleged a company co-owner and the designer of the Verruckt slide rushed it into use and had no technical or engineering expertise related to amusement park rides.
The ride was created after Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeffrey Wayne Henry made a "spur of the moment" decision in 2012 to build the world's largest water slide to impress the producers of a Travel Channel show.
The indictment said Mr Henry's desire to "rush the project", and he and his designer's lack of expertise, caused them to "skip fundamental steps in the design process".
It said not a single engineer was directly involved in Verruckt's engineering or slide path design and it complied with "few, if any" longstanding safety standards established by the American Society for Testing and Materials.
Operations director accused of withholding incriminating reports
The water park and its former operations director Tyler Austin Miles, 29, were indicted on involuntary manslaughter and several other charges in Caleb's death, including aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child.
Mr Miles was indicted on two counts of interference with law enforcement and Schlitterbahn was indicted on one count of interference with law enforcement.
Mr Miles allegedly avoided or delayed repairs that would take Verruckt out of commission during the active park season. Investigators said the ride's brake system failed 10 days before Caleb's death.
Mr Miles is accused of telling a police detective that he was unaware of any complaints about the ride and of withholding "thousands" of incriminating daily reports from lead lifeguards and supervisors.
On Friday, Mr Miles pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance. A trial was scheduled for September 10.
Schlitterbahn said in a statement after charges against Mr Miles were announced that it was "deeply disappointed to learn any individual is being personally charged for the terrible accident on Verruckt".
The charges come after a 19-month investigation into the death of Caleb, the son of Republican representative Scott Schwab.
The water slide has been closed since Caleb's death.
Schlitterbahn has said it will dismantle the ride when the investigation into the boy's death is complete.
AP/ABC
Posted , updated
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-24/water-slide-decapitated-boy-park-and-executive-charged/9583222
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