KANSAS CITY, Kan. _ Leslie Castaneda of Kansas City, Kan., can't get the aftermath image of Caleb Thomas Schwab's death out of her head: The 10-year-old's crumpled shorts or bathing suit at the bottom of the 168-foot-tall Verruckt 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 remained shaky Monday morning, after coming upon the scene inside Schlitterbahn Kansas City Water Park shortly after it occurred about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. "I saw his (Caleb's) brother. He was screaming."
One day after the tragic death of Caleb from Olathe, the second oldest of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab's four sons, a family has been left in grief. Neighbors and friends are in shock. As police investigate details of the death, unanswered questions swirl regarding how the events of Sunday came to pass.
What is known is this: In Kansas, water parks are regulated by the state based on inspections commissioned by the park. Schlitterbahn since 2014 has been sued three times in Kansas City for personal injury claims, although none were related to the Verruckt water slide. Nor is Caleb's death the first at a Schlitterbahn facility. In 2013, a 20-year-old lifeguard was killed at the company's park on South Padre Island, Texas, when a mechanical door related to a wave generator slammed on the guard's head.
Regarding Caleb: In Wyandotte County, the medical examiner conducted an autopsy on Monday, but the office said it would not release preliminary results at this time. A funeral for Caleb is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Olathe's Life Mission Church. A GoFundMe fundraising page for funeral and other expenses has been set and has already exceeded its $15,000 goal.
Although the Verruckt remains closed, Schlitterbahn on Monday afternoon said that the park would reopen Wednesday. Grief counselors are being provided at Schlitterbahn Kansas City for employees and guests.
The events of Sunday remain murky. According to those close to the family, the Schwabs had attended church Sunday morning and even debated whether to go to the water park, given the cool weather, early clouds and a forecast for possible rain. When the sun came out, Scott and Michele Schwab took their four boys to the water park for a day in which admittance was free to family of area elected officials.
Soon after arriving, Caleb and his brother, Nathan, age 12, set off into the park with friends. Scott and Michele Schwab attended to their two younger boys. The parents were not on the ride with Caleb.
Among the many questions yet to be answered:
_How exactly did Caleb die? Pending an investigation, Schlitterbahn has released no information about the death, including at what point Caleb was injured, whether it was at the top of the ride or along its descending path. Was he ejected from the raft, did he come loose from the raft or was he injured while still inside the craft?
_Did the ride somehow fail or malfunction?
_Did the raft containing Caleb meet the weight and/or height requirement? According to Schlitterbahn's website, the ride holds two to three riders per raft with a required combined weight of at least 400 pounds. Riders have to be at least 54 inches tall. At age 10, Caleb would have had to ride with two other passengers of adult weight.
_Was Caleb properly secured into the raft? Or did he somehow come loose or somehow unfasten his restraint? The rafts use a Velcro lap and a single shoulder restraint.
_Did the ride's protective netting play a role?
At one point, the ride did not have netting covering the flume. Mike Taylor, a spokesman for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., said it insisted upon add netting to the top of Verruckt before the ride made its debut in 2014.
"We raised that issue," Taylor said on Monday.
The sides of Verruckt aren't tall, designed that way so riders can see out of the chute.
"I think they realized we need to put that extra safety precaution," Taylor said. "The sides on that thing are really low."
The Unified Government's Development Review Committee examined plans for Verruckt before the attraction opened. That committee includes representatives from the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department, the Board of Public Utilities, the city's building inspection and engineering departments and the public health department. The review process did not evaluate how the ride worked or was supposed to operate, nor is there any state or local law that compels the city to carry out such an inspection.
Caleb's death is not the only incident reported at a Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kan., although others were not related to the Verruckt water slide.
Linda Stomboly filed suit in 2014 after suffering injuries to her leg as she rode King Kaw, a 3,000-foot river ride where visitors travel on rafts. Stomboly alleged she was injured after a collision with another rider in front of her.
The collision allegedly threw her from her raft. As she tried to get back on her raft, she fell over a waterfall on the ride and suffered multiple spiral fractures to her leg. Her lawsuit claimed that Schlitterbahn failed to test and determine the appropriate intervals for releasing visitors onto the ride, and that riders were not warned of potential dangers arising from collisions with other riders.
Schlitterbahn denied wrongdoing in its response to Stomboly's lawsuit and charged that her negligence contributed to her injuries.
Stomboly sought $223,934 in damages in that case, a sum that included lost wages, past and future medical expenses and non-economic damages. Schlitterbahn offered $20,000. The case was later settled on terms that were not disclosed.
Frances Logan sued the water park the same year for injuries suffered on the same ride. Logan's lawsuit said that her inner-tube flipped over and that her left foot collided with a concrete wall. Her lawsuit added that no lifeguards were on duty to assist her, leaving other patrons to pull her off the ride.
Schlitterbahn denied her claims, and the case settled last year.
Robert Boepple also sued Schlitterbahn in 2014 for injuries he suffered in 2012.
Boepple claimed he injured his head, neck, arm and spine when he tripped over a protrusion on the Boogie Bahn ride. Schlitterbahn denied wrongdoing in that case, too.
Boepple sought $500,000 in damages in that case. The lawsuit settled in 2015.
In Texas, where Schlitterbahn runs four water parks, the company has reported 61 instances of injuries since 2011 to the Texas Department of Insurance. That department requires amusement parks to report injuries that require the attention of a licensed physician.
Schlitterbahn's 61 injury reports are more than the 41 reported by Great Wolf Lodge's location in Grapevine, Texas, but fewer than the 72 reported by Six Flags in Arlington, Texas.
The 2013 death at Schlitterbahn's Padre Island park involved 20-year-old lifeguard Nicolas "Nico" Benavides. He was pronounced brain dead after an accident involving a wave generator at Schlitterbahn's on South Padre Island. A mechanical door reportedly slammed down on Benavides' head, pinning him and another employee who ultimately survived his injuries.
OSHA issued the park half a dozen citations with penalties exceeding $96,000. By 2015, the park's parent company had settled for $66,000.
When the Verruckt water slide opened at Schlitterbahn in 2014 the rules for riding included a minimum age of 14, a minimum height of 54 inches and a combined weight of all riders in the raft to be between 400 and 550 pounds. Park officials told USA Today at the time, however, that the age requirement was being removed because the height requirement was deemed sufficient.
In the hours after the incident on Sunday, Schlitterbahn removed references to the Verruckt from its Kansas City water park website. The company later tweeted that it had restored the page "for those who are interested in rider requirements." In its statement Monday, the company referred readers to its Verruckt Fact Sheet.
Guinness World Records affirmed the Verruckt is the tallest water slide in the world at 168 feet 7 inches. It surpassed the previous record holder, which was the Kilimanjaro water slide in Brazil at 163 feet 9 inches. The Brazil slide has higher walls on the chute and is not covered by a net. Participants lay on their backs without a raft.
