Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Crews today are continuing the demolition of a giant waterslide that a 10-year-old Kansas boy was riding when he was decapitated two years ago.
The destruction of the 17-story Verruckt, which was billed as the world’s tallest waterslide, began Tuesday.
Caleb Schwab, the son of a Kansas legislator, was riding the slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, in August 2016 when the raft he was in went airborne. Caleb was killed when he struck a metal rod that held a safety net in place.
The demolition was delayed because of disagreements over which parts of the slide should be preserved for evidence in criminal cases. Two maintenance workers have been acquitted of impeding the investigation. Charges are pending against the park’s co-owner and the ride’s designer.
The demolition comes as Jeff Henry, the co-owner of Schlitterbahn water parks currently facing serious criminal charges in Wyandotte County, now faces separate charges in Johnson County related to possessing drugs and hiring someone for sex.
The Johnson County District Attorney charged Henry on Oct. 23 with a felony count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possessing drug paraphernalia, as well as two misdemeanor counts of buying sex and illegally possessing Xanax, a prescription medication meant for treating anxiety.
