World's Tallest Water Slide Tragedy

amusement parks in faes what it's supposed to be quintessential Family Fun turned tragic for one family as a 10-year-old boy has killed in a water park slide and today three girls plummeting from a ferris wheel all raising new questions about rot safety and regulations here's ABC's Matt Gutman tonight authorities are still investigating how a water slide named Vero which means insane in German led to an inconceivable tragedy for one Midwestern family family 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was visiting schitter bond in Kansas City when he climbed the metal stairs to the top of the world's tallest water slide in one of the Park's main attractions the mother was screaming he's not moving That's My Boy the boy did not survive the ride suffering a fatal neck injury one eyewitness describing the horrific aftermath of the incident I just heard a boom boom kind of like something hit the slide I turned around and the raft was coming on the second drop immediately after the raft you see a body the raft I told my cousin I thought that it was a a body and then I noticed there was some red and so I told her I think you know that's blood brought tears to my eyes that someone else lost their child that's my child's age that I'm sure they felt was safe Caleb was with his father Kansas state representative Scott Schwab mother and brothers celebrating elected officials day at the park his grieving family telling ABC News in a statement since the day he was born he brought abundant joy to our family we are comforted knowing he believed in our savior Jesus and they are forever together now we will see him another day I spent the last 24 plus hours with them and as you can imagine uh this has been devastating it's been devastating at every level you know you leave church you go to a water park um to be with family and to enjoy and then you hit tragedy and um there's just no way to prepare for this our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time Park representatives are revealing little about what happened and denying requests for interviews this is the view from the top of arook at 168 ft it's taller than the Statue of Liberty from toe to torch Niagara Falls and the Ark the Triumph Thrill Seekers Free Fall 17 stories in just seconds it can hit speeds of nearly 70 mph commercials for the ride even asking are you insane but when the ride first opened 2 years ago many were asking a different question is it safe concerns only heightened after this video from the rides testing phase appeared on the Travel Channel show extreme water parks sandbag dummies launching off the slide the ride's opening was repeatedly delayed while designer attempted to work out the flaws adding in more safety measures like netting and safety belts then it was finally deemed a feet of engineering the jewel in the Park's Crown when it was finally deemed ready for people I was one of the first to go down this is literally not for the faint of heart there were lifeguards safety checks and a Park employee at the top reading a two-page liability agreement to each Rider out loud there is a risk inherent to the activity including Falls my first trip down was in Adrenaline pumping vertigo inducing plummet but overall safe and fun a completely different scene in the tragedy that unfolded over the weekend we go but it's easy to see how on fast-paced rides like this things can go wrong in an instant this man was in an Austin Texas area slide when he kemed over the edge falling down into a rocky Clint he suffered a broken arm and fractured ribs but survived in this video a man desperately holds on to another Rider after falling out of the raft before eventually being plucked back to safety yeah nice and in England a woman falling out of her inner tube into the path of other Riders you okay she not okay she not okay she not okay she too made a full recovery if it seems like amusement park rides are getting more extreme you're not imagining things Parks across the country are in a sort of arms race competing for Visitors by offering bigger rides steeper drops and Wilder Thrills raising the stakes on passenger safety last year a train on a mega coaster ironically called The Smiler smashed into empty cars injuring four people oh my God and leaving 16 Riders dangling for hours but it's not just the hulking coasters that can lead to injuries or fatalities I've got 30 kids that have fail from the fire s three kids just hours ago three girls were injured when they fell from a ferris wheel at the Green County Fair in Tennessee tonight they're hospitalized but are reportedly awake and alert and this video shows the moments before this 11-year-old Nebraska girl suffered a gruesome head injury after her hair was caught in this spinning ride the girl is still recovering and this may a Texas teen died at a church Carnival she was hurled from her seat on a small spinning ride like this one this is not something that you ever think is going to happen the boat behind us it's falling off and it's got people on water rides are considered among the most dangerous types of attractions at amusement parks over 4,200 people are taken to the emergency room after suffering injuries at water parks each year the Red Cross offers a few safety tips for Park visitors number one learn to swim and consider putting kids in life vests remember a quarter of all drownings occur in shallow water look for lifeguards and Signal one if you see someone in trouble make sure you read the attraction signs and follow all rules but in the wake of Caleb's death some are wondering if there are enough rules in place quite possibly this incident is not going to be a result of a mechanical issue more possibly a result of a human era when Faro first opened writers had to be at least 14 years old that regulation has since changed the SL requires a minimum height of 54 in and two to three Riders must be in a raft with a total weight of at least 400 lb Kansas state laws don't specifically address water slides but regulate that permanent water slides must be inspected at least every 12 months the park is now empty the slitter Bond closed today and tomorrow and the Vero shuttered indefinitely for Nightline I'm Matt Gutman

Channel: ABC News

Views: 4,400,204

Keywords: Kansas, Verruckt, Caleb, Schwab, 10, died, while, riding, slide, tragedy, worlds, tallest, water, extreme, rides, safety, abc, abcnews

Id: o8nrv_rVp9M

Length: 7min 7sec (427 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 09 2016