TOPEKA, Kan. — A state inspection has found several alleged violations of regulations on 11 rides at the KCK Schlitterbahn where 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died in 2016.
The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) made an audit of the Schlitterbahn park in KCK public Tuesday, a day after issuing a notice to the park. The inspection was last week.
The audit said safety signs in some park areas were not adequate, records were not available for review and some operating and training manuals were not complete. The audit said one ride’s parts weren’t replaced as the manufacturer recommended.
The audit lists 160 findings, 147 of which are considered Class 1 and require immediate action. The department issued a warning to the water park that those issues must be addressed immediately. The KCK water park is scheduled to open Friday.
“That’s so scary. I can’t believe anybody would put their kids, their family in danger like that. There’s no way, we will not be going,” Bliss Krause said.
“I think any kind of water park or amusement park you go to is probably going to have some sort of issues, and it’s a risk you take,” a metro mother named Heather said.
A spokesperson for Schlitterbahn issued the following statement about the audit:
“Before opening to the public, Schlitterbahn is addressing the bulk of the administrative, record keeping, and documentation issues noted in the KDOL report and is challenging the accuracy of the report in several important respects. The fact is the KDOL did not follow its own statutory requirements by publishing a list of misleading and false information concerning a park that was not yet open to the public and was not yet ready for operation. Our commitment to safety remains our highest priority. The report found no issues with the mechanical function of our rides. Later this week Schlitterbahn will file a letter with the KDOL challenging the details of the report and we look forward to sharing those details publicly at that time.”
On Wednesday, Schlitterbahn representatives wrote a formal 7-page letter to KDOL, refuting the department’s report.
You can read the full letter here.
Schwab, who died nearly two years ago, died while riding the Verrückt water slide when the raft he was on went airborne and hit a metal pole overhead.
The KCK water park — along with a Schlitterbahn co-owner, slide designer and former park operations manager — was charged in connection to the boy’s death. Charges were dropped in April against the water park due to a technicality, but officials say those charges will be refiled.
Court documents show, from August 2014 until Caleb’s death in August 2016, more than a dozen people reported injuries from the ride including concussions, whiplash and herniated spinal disk injuries.
Verruckt designer John Schooley, Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry and former park operations manager Tyler Miles are all charged with multiple felonies in the boy’s death.
Miles faces a total of 20 felony charges including 12 charges of aggravated battery, five child endangerment charges, two charges of interference with law enforcement and one involuntary manslaughter in connection with death of Caleb.
Read the full indictment against Miles here.
Schooley and Henry face charges of reckless second-degree murder. The two, along with Henry & Sons Construction Company, Inc., were indicted in connection with injuries sustained by 13 other persons, including four other minors, while riding the water slide. Those charges include aggravated battery and aggravated endangering a child.
Read the full indictment against Schooley and Henry here.
All three men have pleaded not guilty to their charges and waived their right to a speedy trial, giving their attorneys times to go through the massive amount of documents and expert testimonies in the case.
