Kansas waterpark operators indicted on criminal charges in child's death

Michael James | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption The Kansas waterslide that killed a 10 year-old boy will be demolished The Verrückt waterslide will be destroyed. Video provided by Newsy

Operators of a Kansas waterslide were so infatuated with building the world's tallest ride that they ignored serious safety issues that led to the decapitation of a 10-year-old boy and at least a dozen injuries to others, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Friday.

The indictment charges the operator of Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, along with its director Tyler Austin Miles, with involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, and a host of other criminal offenses.

Killed in the August 7, 2016 accident on the Verruckt waterslide was Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas Rep. Scott Schwab. The raft he was in went airborne, hitting a pole and netting designed to keep riders from being thrown from the ride.

"The death of (Caleb) appeared at first to be an isolated and unforeseeable incident until whistleblowers from within Schlitterbahn's own ranks came forward and revealed that Schlitterbahn officials had covered up similar incidents in the past," said the indictment, filed in Wyandotte County, Kansas.

The indictment says that a company co-owner, Jeffrey Wayne Henry, was the designer of the Verruckt, despite the fact that he "possesses no technical or engineering credentials" and is a high-school dropout.

A video shows that Caleb Schwab was obeying all rider instructions when his raft went airborne and killed him, and also severely injured two adult women in the same raft, according to the indictment. Caleb was sitting in the front of the raft.

"Experts in the field of amusement ride design and safety examined Verruckt and found physical evidence which indicated that other rafts had gone airborne and collided with the overhead hoops and netting before the fatality," the indictment alleged. "These experts noted that Verruckt's design violated nearly all aspects" of longstanding industry safety standards.

Winter Prosapio, a spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn, was quoted in the Kansas City Star as defending the company's safety practices.

"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," Prosapio said. "Our team has been conscientious and committed to providing visitors to the waterpark a safe and enjoyable experience. We are shocked by any allegations of impropriety or negligence on the part of anyone associated with Verruckt."

After Caleb died, detectives from the Kansas City police department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and special agents from the Kansas Attorney General's office began reconstructing the design and operational history of the Verruckt, which was designed in 2012.

"Verruckt's designers and operators knew that Verruckt posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or severe bodily harm," the indictment alleged.

Prosecutors alleged that Henry conceived of the Verruckt in 2012 "in a spur-of-the-moment bid to impress" the Travel Channel's Xtreme Waterparks series, but that he did not conduct proper engineering and safety tests.

"Henry openly admitted that one of his principal motivations in building Verruckt was to flaunt his achievements in the faces of other waterpark owners," the indictment said, quoting from an internal document. "Hey guys, come on! Are you gonna let me have the bragging rights? Because I'm gonna brag a lot! We are the tallest ride in the world!"

Henry, the court papers said, acknowledged the danger. "It's complex, it's fast, it's mean. If we mess up, it could be the end. I could die going down this ride."

The water slide was closed after Caleb's death. Company officials said it will be dismantled once the investigation is finished.