Father of 10-Year-Old Killed on Waterslide Tells Fellow Lawmakers to Keep Perspective: ‘It Could Get Worse’
The father of the 10-year-old boy who was killed in August while riding the world’s tallest waterslide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, spoke out about the accident on Monday.
Kansas State Rep. Scott Schwab, who had just been sworn in as a leader of in the Kansas House, became emotional as he reflected on what happened to his son Caleb.
“When your bill dies, or your amendment fails … let it go,” Schwab said according to The Kansas City Star. “Life isn’t worth wasting too much emotional energy on such things. I just want you to know, it could get worse.”
Schwab spoke in front of state lawmakers as the Kansas Legislature returned for the first day of the 2017 session.
Caleb Schwab was at the water park with his family when he was killed moments after going on Verrück (German for “crazy” or “insane”), the world’s tallest waterslide.
Local authorities confirmed Caleb’s cause of death was due to a fatal “neck injury” – later acknowledging that he was decapitated in the accident.
In November, Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts issued a statement about the incident, announcing the demolition of Verrückt.
“All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verrückt. In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather, we’ve never experienced this kind of devastating event,” the park’s statement to PEOPLE read. “The safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority. We are parents and grandparents ourselves and many of us have ridden Verrückt with our own children and grandchildren over the years it operated.”
For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.
