Kansas City water park permanently closes ride after child’s death

A Kansas City, Kansas water park announced on Tuesday it will close the world’s tallest water slide following the death of a boy over the summer.

Texas-based Schlitterbahn said it will permanently shut down Verrückt after Caleb Schwab, 10, the son of a Kansas state lawmaker, was killed while going down the slide in August.

According to water park officials, it will start taking down the ride as soon as the investigation into Schwab’s death is completed.

The park said it does have plans to build a new a ride in Verrückt’s place, but will make that announcement at a later date.

Verrückt opened in 2014, but was delayed after it required additional safety tests.

Schlitterbahn issued this statement on their Facebook page:

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 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.

Once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court, Verrückt will be decommissioned – closed permanently and the slide removed the tower. In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy.

We will, at some point in the future, announce what will be built in its place.

We continue to fully cooperate with investigative teams and work with the families, their attorneys and our staff impacted by this accident. As we move forward, we assure everyone who works for us and the community: we remain wholly committed to our Kansas City park and the original vision of Schlitterbahn – providing a great place to work and an environment for families and friends to gather together.