Caleb Schwab and his family were spending time together at Schlitterbahn Kansas City when disaster struck
Warning: This article includes graphic details that some readers might find upsetting.
The devastating words spoken by a grieving sibling, whose 10-year-old brother was decapitated on what was once the tallest waterslide in the world, have come to light.
Back in 2016, Caleb Schwab and his family—including his dad Scott, mom Michele, and older brother Nathan—visited the Schlitterbahn Waterpark located in Kansas City for what was meant to be a fun family outing.
The waterpark was once home to the record-breaking Verrückt slide, famously known as the tallest of its kind in the world.
The slide, called Verrückt—which means 'crazy' or 'insane' in German—was designed by John Schooley. It stood at a jaw-dropping height of 168 feet and 7 inches, making it taller than even Niagara Falls.
Riders who reached the top would drop the height of 17 stories in a near-vertical fall, before being propelled over a 55-foot-high hill for an added thrill.
To help keep riders safely inside the chute, the slide was enclosed with a net that was supported by metal rods.
The Verrückt opened in July 2014, but was shut down shortly after Caleb's fatal accident. His father, a Kansas Republican legislator, would later become the state’s Secretary of State.
Caleb, like everyone else who went on the Verrückt, had to climb a grueling 264 steps to reach the top. He was accompanied by two other riders at the time the incident happened.
As Caleb launched down the slide, the intense speed reportedly threw him into the safety netting.
He tragically struck one of the metal support rods. One eyewitness described the moment on August 17 as a scene from a nightmare that was impossible to process.
"It was as horrible a moment as you could imagine," they told Texas Monthly two years later. "I can't begin to describe it."
Caleb was just ten years old when he tragically died at a water parkFamily Handout
Caleb's older brother, Nathan, who was just 12 at the time, had been waiting for him at the bottom of the slide. He was the one who had to deliver the horrific news to their parents.
"He was screaming: 'He flew from the Verruckt, he flew from the Verruckt'," Michele shared with ABC News in 2017.
She remembered the moment she realized Caleb was gone, saying: "There was a gentleman who wouldn't allow me to come close enough to see what was going on, and he just kept saying, 'Trust me, you don't want to go any further.'"
"I kind of knew in my mind that I shouldn't see it, that I probably don't want to see it."
In the months that followed, Scott, Michele, and their three surviving sons often turned to old home videos of Caleb as a way to comfort themselves and keep his memory alive.
"There's times when it's like, I can't look at that right now, and there's other times when you can't sleep and you want to look at it," Scott said through tears.
After Caleb’s death, the Schwab family came to a settlement with the park’s former owners. The financial terms were not disclosed, according to ABC News.
The family’s lawyers released a statement saying: "All claims against the local amusement park as well as the raft manufacturer have been resolved,"
"The family continues to pursue claims against a Texas-based company, Henry & Sons, which constructed Verruckt, as well as claims against a consultant who evaluated the slide before being opened to the public."
The boy's family revealed the harrowing words his brother was 'screaming'Family Handout
In the aftermath of the incident, Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts released a statement expressing deep sorrow over what had happened.
"In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather, we've never experienced this kind of devastating event."
"The safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority. We are parents and grandparents ourselves, and many of us had ridden Verruckt with our own children and grandchildren over the years it operated."
"At Schlitterbahn we take safety very seriously. We support effective guidelines that increase guest and staff safety."
Schlitterbahn permanently shut down its Kansas City location in September 2018. The Verrückt slide was dismantled two months after the closure.