Caleb decided to ride the 170-foot-tall Verruckt water slide, which translates to ‘crazy’ in English.
When it launched in 2014, the slide was billed as the ‘world’s tallest,’ and riders had to climb 264 steps to reach the summit.
The slide’s towering height made it taller than Niagara Falls, and once at the top, riders would sit in a raft that plunged 17 storeys before blasting over a 55-foot-tall crest, occasionally lifting off the slide’s base.
To keep riders from sliding off the drop, the chute was covered in netting and supported by metal poles.
Caleb was with two other riders when he hopped onto one of the rafts and began to slide down, and the journey started out like any other.
Caleb was flung into the netting, where he collided with one of the metal poles and was beheaded.
One of Caleb’s brothers was waiting for him at the bottom of the slide, but when his lifeless corpse slid into the water, everyone started screaming.
One witness to the awful event told Texas Monthly, “It was as horrible a moment as you could imagine.” A nightmare beyond comprehension. I can’t begin to explain it.”
Following Caleb’s death, a grand jury indicted Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry and senior designer John Schooley for second-degree murder, but the charges were withdrawn.
Caleb’s family settled the dispute with Schlitterbahn and other firms in 2017 for almost $20 million.
Verruckt was shuttered following the event, and the Kansas City park followed suit in September 2018.
Schlitterbahn issued a statement at the time of Caleb’s death, saying it had ‘never seen this kind of heartbreaking catastrophe’ in its 50-year history.
“The safety of our staff and guests is our top priority,” the park stated, according to ABC News.
“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 seriously. “We support effective guidelines that improve guest and staff safety.”
