Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

and led to many redesigns. The slide’s engineering team deemed that the slide was simply too fast to be safe. The project’s construction workers drew the stark comparison of working for Disneyland: the amount of work was exhausting, and most construction workers had no experience with that kind of project.28 Despite the design and logistical issues that occurred throughout the testing process, the culture at the Schlitterbahn was known to be unstable; instances of misbehaving, incompetence, and immaturity were the norm. During a night when the park’s staff were testing Verrückt, sandbags that were meant to simulate people flew off the rafts. The staff, however, remained apathetic.29 In July 2014, the slide was officially ready for the public. Right before it opened, employees questioned why the imposed age requirement of 16 had been removed. The reasons were never communicated. When the slide opened, it attracted widespread publicity and was featured in print, TV, and video pieces throughout the country.30 THE TRAGEDY One afternoon on August 7, 2016, Scott Schwab, a Kansas state representative, and his family attended Schlitterbahn’s Kansas City water park. The temperature was warm and sunny, a perfect day for some family fun. Caleb, Schwab’s 10-year-old son, had heard all about the widely publicized Verrückt and told his parents he had to try it.31 The park’s rules for the slide required riders to be at least 4 feet 6 inches tall (54 inches). Caleb was 4 feet 11 inches and weighed 72 pounds. When Caleb climbed to the top of Verrückt, he was placed in a raft and joined by two women, aged 32 and 25. Little did the riders know that the raft had a tendency to go airborne more frequently than other vessels. When it was released, Caleb was in the front seat.32 When the gate swung open, the raft tipped forward and began to move. When it approached the bottom of the hill, something went wrong. Instead of staying in the ride’s caged exterior and remaining on the second hill, the raft went airborne. It smashed into a metal pole and netting meant to prevent riders from getting tossed. Park attendees going about their day heard a loud noise, a sound that was likened to the ride derailing. Very quickly thereafter, a flow of blood was seen creeping down the slide. People stood with their hands over their mouths, reacting to the horror they had just witnessed. Caleb’s head had collided with a semicircular metal hoop that arced over the top of the slide. It sliced into his neck, decapitating him and killing him instantly.33 THE AFTERMATH Initially, after the incident, the Henry family stayed quiet. The only correspondence that came from Schlitterbahn was a statement from their spokesperson, who said, “We honestly don’t know what happened” but added that they were “deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident.”34 Immediately, the media began covering the story. The public soon became aware of how relaxed Kansas’s water park regulations were. Reporters started asking questions to former Verrückt riders and learned that this was not the first time people had been injured on the ride.35 When the Kansas Bureau of Investigation questioned him about the safety of the ride, Miles declared that he had not received complaints and had been confident it was completely safe. However, investigators learned from the park’s operations reports that there were indeed problems with Verrückt but that they were never made public. It was found that Miles had received 17 staff reports over the course of the two previous summer seasons about Caleb’s raft requiring maintenance. Between August 31, 2014, and August 5, 2016, 11 customers said they had suffered head, neck, and back injuries.36 The investigation also revealed that Miles ordered a lifeguard to fabricate a safety report that disguised the severity of an injury that someone had sustained on the Verrückt. Investigators concluded that Miles had avoided and delayed making repairs because doing so would have temporarily closed the ride. Additionally, he chose not to order repairs when it was discovered that urgent maintenance was needed on the braking system.37 In May 2017, Schlitterbahn’s attorneys reached a nearly $20-million settlement with the Schwab family. Maintaining their silence, neither Henry nor his siblings made any public remarks about what had occurred the previous summer. It seemed as if nobody knew what happened.38 In March 2018, Kansas City prosecutors issued indictments. Miles and the Kansas City Schlitterbahn faced charges for aggravated endangerment of a child, aggravated battery, interference with law enforcement, and involuntary manslaughter. Henry, Schooley, and the family-owned construction company were charged with similar indictments.39 Once again, Henry had nothing public to say, though the park did release a statement promising a strong defense (see Exhibit 3).40 MOVING FORWARD Was the park’s response blameworthy or praiseworthy? How should Schlitterbahn’s owners have responded?