KS - Caleb Schwab, 10, dies on 17-story Schlitterbahn waterpark slide, Aug 2016

[kimi_SFC]

More:
http://www.kwch.com/content/news/FF...s-liability-questions-answered-389926742.html

Here's the full PDF of the last inspection. Lots of photos:

http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/June+7+Schlitterbahn+inspection+report+photos.pdf



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[GeeEm]

BBM

I completely disagree. This is an open discussion about the whole situation and if we are ever going to LEARN from this tragic event, you can bet your bottom dollar that there had better be a discussion about WHY the velcro/hook and loop fasteners were a possible factor in this.

To that end has there been anything released stating this as a fact? Is there a statement from anyone announcing that the velcro fasteners are what caused this? I don't think so. Is the investigation then over on this matter? I'd love to read the final report that says it was the velcro fasteners.

Hi IB

Not sure what you are trying to say about open discussion about the tragic event. I've been up on this case from the beginning and I think fellow WS have as well, making excellent possibilities.

As for me, I have NEVER stated the investigation was over, nor have I read where anyone else says that.

If you think the velco fasteners was not an issue that is your opinion. Based on FACTS people, including myself, we have provided information from other people whom previously had problems with the strap coming undone. To my recollection, I don't recall anyone saying that is the cause of the death. No information has been made public out of respect to the families involved and I thankful for that.

I feel certain it will be awhile before the cause is truly known, with the on going investigation. As far as I know, very few people actually knew what occurred that day.

As another theory from me, could be due to the weight in the slide, itself, we simply don't know. If you have viable information please share.

All I was going on was previously reports from people who had bad experiences on the ride with links to back it up.

I feel that everyone here would love to read the final reports, but in my opinion, it will be later than sooner.

jmo 🐮

 

[Doghairrules]

Yes but the duct tape I saw was all for holding cameras in place, it had nothing to do with the safety or operation of the raft.

Oh thank you! I couldn't tell what it was doing.


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[neesaki]

Good grief---I simply responded to the misconception that velcro when wet will not adhere---nothing more. I never said it was the point of anything, nor that it was appropriate or adequate.

Apologies for misunderstanding your point. No worries.

 

[neesaki]

BBM

I completely disagree. This is an open discussion about the whole situation and if we are ever going to LEARN from this tragic event, you can bet your bottom dollar that there had better be a discussion about WHY the velcro/hook and loop fasteners were a possible factor in this.

To that end has there been anything released stating this as a fact? Is there a statement from anyone announcing that the velcro fasteners are what caused this? I don't think so. Is the investigation then over on this matter? I'd love to read the final report that says it was the velcro fasteners.

GeeEm posted , and Rocco posted in response to GeeEms post, as though it were wrong , and it wasn't. It was a page or three back. So my post was nothing more than supporting the first posters opinion, because the second posters opinion disagreed, or so it sounded. Does all this make sense ? :lol: Now.... Please no more attacking each other (at least that's how it's coming across) just because we have a differing opinion, or are misunderstanding an opinion. Let's just move on. Thank you.

 

[Reba]

Why wouldn't it?

If my son was decapitated riding a water slide; by the time I was done with them, I'd own the park and burn it to the ground, I'd sue them so hard they would cry for their mamas. I'd bankrupt them and take their houses, I'd go after the designers of the ride, the raft makers, and whoever came up with that metal netting. I'd sue the building inspectors and anyone else that was even close to this whole project.

I wouldn't stop until bronze statues of me were erected in town square for the absolute judicial and financial h*ll I would inflict on the people who created this freak show all for their own financial gain.

The high school history books would have to be re-written so that my name would appear next to Genghis Khan's as one of the most ruthless creators of pure mayhem the court system had ever seen. The BANKS would change their name to mine in my honor.

THAT is how much I completely loathe and disdain what has happened here. Here we have a bunch of wannabe designers that found a loop hole in their ability to create a waterpark by designing the thing through 'consultation' with the people that really should have been designing it.

ALL of the talk about , "Oh well you know it passed inspection in June, it was safe." OBVIOUSLY NOT because a little boy is dead.

There is absolutely NO excuse for what happened there to that little boy. Zero. The obligation of safety is squarely on the people who built and signed off on that thing, period.

There needs to be an award for the best post . . . You definately win and I totally agree!

 

[moonriverfarm]

IBSleuthin, Best. Post. Ever.

 

[IBsleuthin]

IBSleuthin, Best. Post. Ever.

Thank you! (takes a bow)...I get so passionate about some of these issues and so many times the 'experts' fail us in common sense.

 

[IBsleuthin]

There needs to be an award for the best post . . . You definately win and I totally agree!

Thank you; on behalf all the kids out there who have died needlessly in these situations. Passion guides my keyboard.

 

[IBsleuthin]

The truth be told and the point could be made that the fastening system didn't actually cause the boy's death. It was the impact into the metal netting and caging that caused the injuries leading to the death. Currently I don't think we know exactly what lead to the raft and occupants in that raft impacting with the metal netting.

The area I grew up in was quite small, very rural and financially poor for several counties. Our school was very small and couldn't afford calculators so I'm just not that smart. But what I do know is that if we drive our pickup too fast over that really hilly road north of town, all our grocery bags will lift right up out of that pickup box. My Little Debbie Snack cakes and Coca Cola will end up over in Johnson's ditch if I don't change my SPEED which I know has a direct relationship with the slope of that dang road.


I believe these observations would have prevented this from happening.

 

[Madeleine74]

I admire the passion and emotion this tragedy has caused. What could be better than a citizen's passion for safety and accountability? It's easy to be enraged after a terrible tragedy; but prevention is where the focus needs to be. Please, please join or organize parental or citizen groups in your area to examine, discuss and provide a common sense view concerning the safety of amusement park rides. Actions begets action. Don't just leave it up to 'the state' or 'the park.' Provide the parental level of guidance that is sadly lacking. Look what MADD were able to achieve! Focused action.

 

[gregjrichards]

Yes, there was some excuse that the scales were malfunctioning at the time. At this point, I wonder if that's even true. And, I thought I read that they weighed them below before they ever went up the stairs to the ride. No ?

From reading about this incident I understand people are weighed at the bottom of the slide but when they reached the top the people in the group of three might change and the group were weighed again. It is alleged that the top scale was not working properly as groups of the same three people who were weighed at the bottom of the slide would be a different weight at the top of it. Obviously they couldn't - or + weight that quick so something was up with the scales.

 

[La Louve]

Why wouldn't it?

If my son was decapitated riding a water slide; by the time I was done with them, I'd own the park and burn it to the ground, I'd sue them so hard they would cry for their mamas. I'd bankrupt them and take their houses, I'd go after the designers of the ride, the raft makers, and whoever came up with that metal netting. I'd sue the building inspectors and anyone else that was even close to this whole project.

I wouldn't stop until bronze statues of me were erected in town square for the absolute judicial and financial h*ll I would inflict on the people who created this freak show all for their own financial gain.

The high school history books would have to be re-written so that my name would appear next to Genghis Khan's as one of the most ruthless creators of pure mayhem the court system had ever seen. The BANKS would change their name to mine in my honor.

THAT is how much I completely loathe and disdain what has happened here. Here we have a bunch of wannabe designers that found a loop hole in their ability to create a waterpark by designing the thing through 'consultation' with the people that really should have been designing it.

ALL of the talk about , "Oh well you know it passed inspection in June, it was safe." OBVIOUSLY NOT because a little boy is dead.

There is absolutely NO excuse for what happened there to that little boy. Zero. The obligation of safety is squarely on the people who built and signed off on that thing, period.

BBM

The reason I believe it won't go to court is because none of the parties involved are going to want any facts to be made public through trial documents.

That's as much as I can say without getting a time out.

ETA Just keep in mind that this deathtrap was built in a state with little regulation and a political climate favorable to business.

ALL IMO

 

[AmyPond]

I am sure we will find out it was a number of factors that caused the perfect storm, so to speak - weight of passengers/distribution of weight, faulty seatbelt, etc.

 

[K_Z]

BBM

The reason I believe it won't go to court is because none of the parties involved are going to want any facts to be made public through trial documents.

That's as much as I can say without getting a time out.

ETA Just keep in mind that this deathtrap was built in a state with little regulation and a political climate favorable to business.

ALL IMO

BBM. Agree. Complete secrecy is "essential" for the PR management of this unthinkable and horrific situation.

Caleb's family will be offered a settlement, confidential, of course. But Caleb's father is a LAWMAKER and politician in Kansas, so that greatly complicates the quiet pay off. And there are 2 additional women riders who are victims, whose silence needs to be "bought".

Will Caleb's parents, both Mom and Dad, be willing to keep quiet for a certain amount of payout? Will the women riders agree to a confidentiality/ non-disclosure agreement? One of the women riders has a son, Caleb's age. Will she be willing to demolish the cone of silence, and bring all the details out into the open in lawsuits? Will the other rider?

What is the price tag for silence?

What is the cost of transparency and truth?

And not just in dollars-- what is the social, emotional, and societal cost of pay out vs silence?

I'm still reeling from the $16 million dollar labor and delivery payout earlier this week, and the $6.4 million pre-emptive payout in Baltimore. What is the price tag for a 10 year old's decapitation on a waterslide?

Wish we had a federal investigative agency, like the NTSB, to investigate these accidents. And make the reports public at the end.

 

[K_Z]

Consider also, that Caleb's dad was in the park in his capacity specifically as an INVITED lawmaker, and given free admission for him and his family. Does that change Caleb's dad's obligation in regard to a confidential settlement?

 

[Angelo]

I have followed this since Sunday trying to figure out how such a horrific thing could happen.

A few things:

I was able to figure out who the two woman were that were riding with Caleb and were injured. I am not great with judging weight, but from looking at their pictures I do think the correct minimum weight requirement was met.

If you do a search on Instagram, hashtag #Verruckt, there is a video posted on July 28th of the raft going over the second hill. This would be the hill where Caleb was killed. You can see the speed in which the raft comes over the hill. Also, it looks as though the raft rises up and shifts to the side at one point. Easy to see how faulty restraints, dangerous netting/metal, and the impossibility of knowing how a raft would react to different variables led to this disaster.

Very sad........

 

[Angelo]

Why wouldn't it?

If my son was decapitated riding a water slide; by the time I was done with them, I'd own the park and burn it to the ground, I'd sue them so hard they would cry for their mamas. I'd bankrupt them and take their houses, I'd go after the designers of the ride, the raft makers, and whoever came up with that metal netting. I'd sue the building inspectors and anyone else that was even close to this whole project.

I wouldn't stop until bronze statues of me were erected in town square for the absolute judicial and financial h*ll I would inflict on the people who created this freak show all for their own financial gain.

The high school history books would have to be re-written so that my name would appear next to Genghis Khan's as one of the most ruthless creators of pure mayhem the court system had ever seen. The BANKS would change their name to mine in my honor.

THAT is how much I completely loathe and disdain what has happened here. Here we have a bunch of wannabe designers that found a loop hole in their ability to create a waterpark by designing the thing through 'consultation' with the people that really should have been designing it.

ALL of the talk about , "Oh well you know it passed inspection in June, it was safe." OBVIOUSLY NOT because a little boy is dead.

There is absolutely NO excuse for what happened there to that little boy. Zero. The obligation of safety is squarely on the people who built and signed off on that thing, period.

Agree. This ride was a ticking time bomb!

 

[PeggyAnnMcKay]

Thank you! (takes a bow)...I get so passionate about some of these issues and so many times the 'experts' fail us in common sense.

I loved it so much I wanted to remove my thanks just so I could thank you again. :loveyou::loveyou::loveyou: I think you pretty much summed up what a lot of us would love to be able to articulate!!

 

[Everyday Grace]

I have followed this since Sunday trying to figure out how such a horrific thing could happen.

A few things:

I was able to figure out who the two woman were that were riding with Caleb and were injured. I am not great with judging weight, but from looking at their pictures I do think the correct minimum weight requirement was met.

If you do a search on Instagram, hashtag #Verruckt, there is a video posted on July 28th of the raft going over the second hill. This would be the hill where Caleb was killed. You can see the speed in which the raft comes over the hill. Also, it looks as though the raft rises up and shifts to the side at one point. Easy to see how faulty restraints, dangerous netting/metal, and the impossibility of knowing how a raft would react to different variables led to this disaster.

Very sad........

Interesting on the July 28 video. I don't use Instagram, so I am seeking another way to view it.

There is this report of an airborne raft on July 28:

Dawn Gentry, Wichita, said she and her daughter, Olivia, rode the Verrückt water slide in Kansas City, Kan., on July 28. As they approached the slide’s second drop, Gentry said, their raft flew into the air.

“Our boat, 100 percent, went off the tracks,” Gentry told the Kansas City Star on Wednesday, three days after Caleb Thomas Schwab was killed on the slide. “The boat was airborne and then boom, we landed.”

Workers at the end of the ride were concerned. They rushed to see whether Gentry and her daughter, as well as a man riding with them, were OK.

Her account echoed that of Jon Powell of Hutchinson, who earlier told the Star about his family’s raft going airborne approximately three weeks ago.

“The lifeguards were freaking out,” Gentry said. “They were like, ‘Are you sure you are OK? Seriously, are you OK?’ ... They asked me so many times, it registered to me, ‘Uh, this isn’t the first time this has happened.’ ”

The question is, how many times has it happened? And why?

http://www.hdnews.net/news/local/an...cle_046a0486-5fa2-56ce-9442-e3aafe3b3b15.html

The article goes on to say that Schlitterbahn declined to respond to questions if management was aware of the issue or if any corrective actions had been taken.

No doubt. They are locked down in defensive mode.