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

[Tssiemer]

Eyewitness account of what allegedly happened: (warning - graphic content)

http://abc13.com/news/gruesome-details-revealed-in-boys-water-slide-death/1461978/

??


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[Tssiemer]

I'm guessing that you are questioning why I used the word "allegedly". If so, I thought it was appropriate since some of this information was based on a witness account of what happened.

No. Where's the eye witness account?


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[MzOpinion8d]

I have said from the start that someone was going to die on that thing. It was ridiculous that they screwed up the engineering so bad at the beginning that the test dummy sandbags were flying out into the parking lot. They then spent a million more dollars to modify it, including putting the safety netting up...the safety netting which did apparently stop the raft from flying off, but still caused a fatality.

They're calling it a "neck injury" right now. Hmm, wonder what kind of "neck injury" causes that much visible blood in the water at the bottom of the slide? I'm thinking a "neck injury" in which the head becomes detached from the neck, whether partially or wholly.

People are arguing "it's been open for 2 years and this is the first injury"...well, that's true, but it's still not a safe ride. There are so many other things Schlitterbahn could have spent money on to draw visitors to the park, things that many more people would be able to use rather than a slide with specific rider guidelines.

 

[tbum]

No. Where's the eye witness account?


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ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. He described a horrific scene after the boy's death.

From the link I posted, there are additional details of what the person witnessed.

 

[SophieRose]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article94371692.html

At one point, the ride did not have netting covering the flume. The netting is attached above the flume with a series of hard semi-circular supports. Investigators on Sunday removed a section of the netting attached to the final descending portion of the ride just before the ride ends in a pool.

 

[SophieRose]

ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. He described a horrific scene after the boy's death.

From the link I posted, there are additional details of what the person witnessed.

He witnessed the aftermath. Like this person, maybe a relative.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article94371692.html

Leslie Castaneda of Kansas City, Kan., can’t get the aftermath image of Caleb Thomas Schwab’s death out of her head. She said she wintnessed what she believed to be the 10-year-old’s crumpled shorts or bathing suit at the bottom of the 168-foot-tall Verrückt ride, blood on the white descending flume of the world’s tallest water slide.

“I’m really having a tough time with it. I really am,” said Casteneda, who came upon the scene inside Schlitterbahn shortly after it occurred. “I saw his (Caleb’s) brother. He was screaming.”

 

[KaaBoom]

A Boy Died on This Water Slide—in One of the Many States That Barely Ensure That Rides Are Safe


As Daniel Engber wrote in Slate in 2005, regulation of the industry has historically been lax. This changed in 1973, when the newly established Consumer Product Safety Commission assumed authority over the nation’s amusement parks. Amusement park owners chafed against federal oversight. In 1981, Congress passed legislation rescinding the CPSC’s authority over “permanent” rides, only allowing them to monitor temporary rides of the sort featured at pop-up carnivals and fairs.


This is known in the trade as the “roller-coaster loophole.” It leaves the amusement park industry, for the most part, only beholden to a less-than-adequate mishmosh of state laws. According to the New York Daily News, about half the states “require regular inspections from a government agency and allow the state governments to investigate accidents” at amusement parks.


Kansas, it will surprise no one to find out, isn’t exactly tough on theme parks. In an interview with USA Today in 2014, in fact, the Verruckt’s designer specifically cited the state’s lack of regulation regarding the height of rides as one reason the amusement park operator decided to place the world’s tallest water slide there. As for inspections, the state only requires an annual exam, one that is conducted privately and that the park doesn’t need to share with state authorities. There are no surprise spot checks, like there are in neighboring Missouri.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox...one_of_many_states_that_barely_regulates.html

 

[Dogface]

This is just horrific. I pray he didn't suffer, I know so many others will carry this horrible tragedy with them forever. This reminds me of the gator attack in Disney, as far as feeling so comfortable and safe at these parks. I think collectively we have given too much trust to these places. Even at Disney, on the Peter Pan ride, I felt like the restraints were not truly effective, but then reminded myself millions of people have rode it....but this proves that it doesn't matter how many people can ride something, it doesn't mean it's completely safe. I just feel terrible for this family.

 

[gregjrichards]

Eyewitness account of what allegedly happened: (warning - graphic content)

http://abc13.com/news/gruesome-details-revealed-in-boys-water-slide-death/1461978/

Is it really necessary for abc13 to show the photo at the top with the horrific amount of blood? I think readers can appreciate the tragedy fully from the description without that photo. I'm making no criticism of you tbum you gave an appropriate warning and thank you for posting this additional information. I'm just criticising the news station because the Schwab family should never ever have to see photos like this online.

I have said from the start that someone was going to die on that thing. It was ridiculous that they screwed up the engineering so bad at the beginning that the test dummy sandbags were flying out into the parking lot. They then spent a million more dollars to modify it, including putting the safety netting up...the safety netting which did apparently stop the raft from flying off, but still caused a fatality.

They're calling it a "neck injury" right now. Hmm, wonder what kind of "neck injury" causes that much visible blood in the water at the bottom of the slide? I'm thinking a "neck injury" in which the head becomes detached from the neck, whether partially or wholly.

People are arguing "it's been open for 2 years and this is the first injury"...well, that's true, but it's still not a safe ride. There are so many other things Schlitterbahn could have spent money on to draw visitors to the park, things that many more people would be able to use rather than a slide with specific rider guidelines.

I agree with you entirely please don't think I was justifying the ride the remaining open because one fatality has occurred in two years. It's one fatality too many in my opinion. I'm sure the term "neck injury" is being used to be sensitive to Caleb's family who do not need graphic reminders of what happened. I'm sure Senator Schwab will do all he can legislativly to ensure another family does not suffer a tragedy like his has. I'm sure the water park employee who sent the raft down must be having difficulty coping with the tragedy too.

What a terrible year this has been between this tragedy with Caleb, little Lane's death at Disney and all the terrorist attacks like the one in Nice where numerous children also died.

Here is Kansas law regarding amusement park rides if anyone wants to read into it.

2014 Statute


Prev Article 16. - AMUSEMENT RIDES Next


44-1609. Occurrence of serious injury. Whenever a serious injury results from the operation of an amusement ride:
(a) Operation of the ride shall immediately be discontinued;
(b) operation of the ride shall not be resumed until it has been inspected and the qualified inspector has approved resumption of operation; and
(c) the owner, within 30 days after the injury, shall notify the manufacturer of the ride, if the manufacturer is known and in existence at the time of the injury.

http://kslegislature.org/li_2014/b2..._article/044_016_0009_section/044_016_0009_k/

 

[JohnPaul]

I have said from the start that someone was going to die on that thing. It was ridiculous that they screwed up the engineering so bad at the beginning that the test dummy sandbags were flying out into the parking lot. They then spent a million more dollars to modify it

then why bother riding the thing?

i don't mean to sound rude but there are risks involved with basically anything we do in life, walking across the street, driving a car, riding on a bus, flying on an airplane, this is no different.....nothing is fool proof.....if you don't want to take the risk, don't ride on the god dang ride, its simple, a roller coaster could fly off the track just as easily, if you don't want to take the risk, don't do it, its your own choice

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

It's not enough.

http://www.kndklaw.com/personal-inj...as-personal-injury-law?theme_switch_width=412

In the 2014 session, the Kansas Legislature passed new laws that will gradually increase the amount of the “cap” imposed on pain and suffering damages. The “cap” has been a maximum of $250,000 for about the past three decades, but effective for negligence cases accruing after July 1, 2014, that amount will begin to increase. The following table summarizes the increasing amounts of the cap on damages:

Date Your Cause of

Action Accrues

Pain and Suffering Damages “Cap”

between July 1, 1988 and June 30, 2014
$250,000

between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018
$300,000

between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2022
$325,000

on or after July 1, 2022
$350,000


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[MzOpinion8d]

then why bother riding the thing?

i don't mean to sound rude but there are risks involved with basically anything we do in life, walking across the street, driving a car, riding on a bus, flying on an airplane, this is no different.....nothing is fool proof.....if you don't want to take the risk, don't ride on the god dang ride, its simple, a roller coaster could fly off the track just as easily, if you don't want to take the risk, don't do it, its your own choice

I didn't ride it. And this is not the same as a roller coaster coming off the track. This is a "boat" so to speak that is propelled by gravity and water, and it is not attached to the slide by any means. The "safety straps" to keep people in are Velcro, and designed like a car seat belt - diagonal across the shoulder to the waist, and one across the hips.

Editing to add that each boat has to weigh between 400-550 lbs also, in order to be heavy enough to stay on the slide but light enough to make the hills.

When the ride begins, the boat plummets 70 feet and achieves a speed of 65 mph in approximately 3-5 seconds. It then goes up a smaller hill and back down, then slows to a de-boarding area.

The safety screen was originally not part of the ride, but the tests of the first version had the boats and the dummies flying off over and over. The had to re-design it, re-construct some of it, and it finally opened after being delayed 3 times.

Part of the re-design was adding the safety screen above it just in case the boat did fly off, which may be what happened here. The other possibility is that the Velcro strap unfastened or wasn't tight enough to hold the boy in. Either way, though, the safety net is what caused the death. (Editing again to say well, the combination of the physics of the ride and the safety net are the cause.)

On a regular roller coaster, the cars are attached the the track and there are electronic monitoring systems that help ensure safety. Of course they're not 100% safe.

The design flaws in this slide were apparent from the start, and the fixes weren't good enough. There are other things that could have been implemented to ensure safety and lower the risk of injury and death even farther.

 

[popsicle]

I don't think it was the straps unless all 3 people had strap problems. On NG, yes I know, it was said that of the 2 women with him... 1 has a broken jaw and the other a facial fracture and had to get stitches in her eye.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

I don't think it was the straps unless all 3 people had strap problems. On NG, yes I know, it was said that of the 2 women with him... 1 has a broken jaw and the other a facial fracture and had to get stitches in her eye.

I was thinking the same earlier, but realized that it's possible (I'm sorry, it's hard to say this delicately) his injury may have then caused their injuries. I hope that's not too vague but I don't want to be too graphic either.

 

[Dogface]

I think it will come down to him being so light, and riding in the front with straps that were too loose or came undone.

 

[Dogface]

I was thinking the same earlier, but realized that it's possible (I'm sorry, it's hard to say this delicately) his injury may have then caused their injuries. I hope that's not too vague but I don't want to be too graphic either.

I think this is what happened as well.

 

[GeeEm]

I was thinking the same earlier, but realized that it's possible (I'm sorry, it's hard to say this delicately) his injury may have then caused their injuries. I hope that's not too vague but I don't want to be too graphic either.

I think this is what happened as well.

Me too, it is just too hard to even think about it, I am so saddened. :tears:

 

[Everyday Grace]

I wonder if uneven weight distribution could also have been a factor. Can't help but wonder how much he weighed.

Seems possible that the raft being probably heavier toward the rear could have created lift on the front end. Enough lift to raise it to a level that positioned his head where it shouldn't have been.

What did they think might happen when they designed the net and the apparatus to hold it?

At those speeds and forces any impact of a lifting raft with the frame could have foreseeable risk of serious injury.

It's not like a raft and its occupants would be bouncing off a totally soft surface.

 

[gregjrichards]

It's not enough.

http://www.kndklaw.com/personal-inj...as-personal-injury-law?theme_switch_width=412

In the 2014 session, the Kansas Legislature passed new laws that will gradually increase the amount of the “cap” imposed on pain and suffering damages. The “cap” has been a maximum of $250,000 for about the past three decades, but effective for negligence cases accruing after July 1, 2014, that amount will begin to increase. The following table summarizes the increasing amounts of the cap on damages:

Date Your Cause of

Action Accrues

Pain and Suffering Damages “Cap”

between July 1, 1988 and June 30, 2014
$250,000

between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018
$300,000

between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2022
$325,000

on or after July 1, 2022
$350,000


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It is a pitiful amount of money most people think lawsuits involving life changing injuries or death will mean substantial payouts which is not the case. I have personal experience of this from my medical negligence lawsuit. I get that damages can't be unlimited but they should reflect the loss suffered. E.g How is a parent supposed to support a young family if their spouse is fatally killed receiving just $300,000.

I don't think it was the straps unless all 3 people had strap problems. On NG, yes I know, it was said that of the 2 women with him... 1 has a broken jaw and the other a facial fracture and had to get stitches in her eye.

I think these injuries are more serious than the minor facial injuries news articles are claiming.

I think it will come down to him being so light, and riding in the front with straps that were too loose or came undone.

I agree with you.

 

[kimi_SFC]

It's not enough.

http://www.kndklaw.com/personal-inj...as-personal-injury-law?theme_switch_width=412

In the 2014 session, the Kansas Legislature passed new laws that will gradually increase the amount of the “cap” imposed on pain and suffering damages. The “cap” has been a maximum of $250,000 for about the past three decades, but effective for negligence cases accruing after July 1, 2014, that amount will begin to increase. The following table summarizes the increasing amounts of the cap on damages:

Date Your Cause of

Action Accrues

Pain and Suffering Damages “Cap”

between July 1, 1988 and June 30, 2014
$250,000

between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018
$300,000

between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2022
$325,000

on or after July 1, 2022
$350,000


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RBBM

It is not, and it will never be!


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