Boy Killed on Kansas Water Slide

[Anonymous]

Guarantee this ride will never open again.

[Anonymous]

I'd check to see if my water park was designed and reviewed by actual engineers before going.
Here's an engineering group that does water slides:
http://www.whitewaterwest.com/engineering.html

They have a list of parks that they have designed/reviewed:




And no Kansas ever. There are no regulations except for making sure building codes are adhered to?

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/police-say-boy-suffered-fatal-neck-injury-at-schlitterbahn-water/article_f0f46e57-1ad4-5700-918a-ee1eae046c01.html?mode=comments

http://gizmodo.com/i-was-terrified-the-worlds-tallest-waterslides-engin-1601129813

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guarantee this ride will never open again.

God I hope not.

[Anonymous]

So even if the park was 100% negligent and its totally provable, they only pay $250k? That is CRAZY.

Not exactly. My understanding is that the 250K is for noneconomic damages. But since he was a kid and not working, I am not really sure what noneconomic damages would be here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not only that but there are plenty of YouTube videos showing kids on the ride with adults and the ride attendants casually shooting the breeze before the ride starts saying things like "it's not scary!" Nothing like skydiving or whatever where a trained professional rides with you and goes over what can go wrong and how to avoid that. It's a ride ins family park that was bound to kill someone and finally did due to some combination of faulty equipment + bad judgment.

You have to watch a safety video at the bottom before you hike up the stairs.

One of the YouTube videos shows a small boy at the side, waiting for the next raft. He looks no older than 10, himself. He then yells, "Hope you don't die!" to the adults waiting in the raft (guy in back must have a Go Pro on, since everything in front of him is being filmed). The guy in the middle responds, "Me too!" It's scary and weird to hear, considering the present circumstances. Also, the netting and the frames that it is attached to, looks very close to the top of the riders' heads. If poor Caleb flew from the front spot, directly into one of those frames, it is not surprising he was injured in such a horrific manner.

Finally, though, when all of that is said and done, the GoPro footage didn't appear to be all that scary or fast. The weight of the adult male riders distinctly slowed the raft down as it was going up the second hill. I have to imagine that Caleb's raft was seriously underweight and that his harness released. If the Velcro had released on the front passenger in the YouTube video, he probably would've been fine (although it was clear that person was smaller). Without any weight to hold the raft down, tragedy ensued.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I heard it reported on the radio that his dad is in the Kansas State Legislature. Can you say "lawsuit"!

It was elected official day at the park, elected officials were allowed in the park at no cost. Why does this translate into a lawsuit?

Please--there will probably be a lawsuit b/c a kid died a horrible death regardless of parents' professions.

Not much good in Kansas. They have a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages.

The slide was built in Kansas because Kansas is the only state that didn't have regulations to prohibit it.

I know it's wrong, because a child just died, but I wonder how the father feels about tort reform and deregulation of industry now?

Yes, it's wrong, you creep.

Call it creepy, but there's one political party hellbent on dismantling regulations and this is precisely the sort of tragedy they're meant to prevent.

There is a time and place for politics. This is not that time. Please --please -- seek therapy.

Therapy? Seriously? For bringing up the point that regulations can help prevent this sort of tragedy? Wow.

Everyone knows that regulations can help prevent safety problems. That's an obvious point. Injecting politics into this tragedy is what is so very bizarre.

The Kansas Republican party would not agree with that statement. They would say that regulations hamper innovation and don't make anyone safer. Caleb's father is a member of the Kansas Republican party.

Karma is a bitch.

I don't agree with Republicans on many things. But I find your sentiment here disgusting. This family is suffering a horrific ordeal. Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not only that but there are plenty of YouTube videos showing kids on the ride with adults and the ride attendants casually shooting the breeze before the ride starts saying things like "it's not scary!" Nothing like skydiving or whatever where a trained professional rides with you and goes over what can go wrong and how to avoid that. It's a ride ins family park that was bound to kill someone and finally did due to some combination of faulty equipment + bad judgment.

You have to watch a safety video at the bottom before you hike up the stairs.

One of the YouTube videos shows a small boy at the side, waiting for the next raft. He looks no older than 10, himself. He then yells, "Hope you don't die!" to the adults waiting in the raft (guy in back must have a Go Pro on, since everything in front of him is being filmed). The guy in the middle responds, "Me too!" It's scary and weird to hear, considering the present circumstances. Also, the netting and the frames that it is attached to, looks very close to the top of the riders' heads. If poor Caleb flew from the front spot, directly into one of those frames, it is not surprising he was injured in such a horrific manner.

Finally, though, when all of that is said and done, the GoPro footage didn't appear to be all that scary or fast. The weight of the adult male riders distinctly slowed the raft down as it was going up the second hill. I have to imagine that Caleb's raft was seriously underweight and that his harness released. If the Velcro had released on the front passenger in the YouTube video, he probably would've been fine (although it was clear that person was smaller). Without any weight to hold the raft down, tragedy ensued.

More weight doesn't slow you down on those rides. It makes you go faster and higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard it reported on the radio that his dad is in the Kansas State Legislature. Can you say "lawsuit"!

It was elected official day at the park, elected officials were allowed in the park at no cost. Why does this translate into a lawsuit?

Please--there will probably be a lawsuit b/c a kid died a horrible death regardless of parents' professions.

Not much good in Kansas. They have a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages.

The slide was built in Kansas because Kansas is the only state that didn't have regulations to prohibit it.

I know it's wrong, because a child just died, but I wonder how the father feels about tort reform and deregulation of industry now?

Yes, it's wrong, you creep.

Call it creepy, but there's one political party hellbent on dismantling regulations and this is precisely the sort of tragedy they're meant to prevent.

There is a time and place for politics. This is not that time. Please --please -- seek therapy.

Therapy? Seriously? For bringing up the point that regulations can help prevent this sort of tragedy? Wow.

Everyone knows that regulations can help prevent safety problems. That's an obvious point. Injecting politics into this tragedy is what is so very bizarre.

The Kansas Republican party would not agree with that statement. They would say that regulations hamper innovation and don't make anyone safer. Caleb's father is a member of the Kansas Republican party.

Karma is a bitch.

I don't agree with Republicans on many things. But I find your sentiment here disgusting. This family is suffering a horrific ordeal. Shame on you.

It is a horrifying ordeal. It is a horrifying ordeal caused in part because of the father's political positions and his role in the Kansas state government. The dad contributed to this event happening. The poor kid didn't deserve it, but his father's positions on low regulation for businesses absolutely created an environment that allowed this to happen.

If Dad was an AA woman who let her child wander into an animal enclosure, people would be ready to burn her at the stake. This father doesn't deserve less criticism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not only that but there are plenty of YouTube videos showing kids on the ride with adults and the ride attendants casually shooting the breeze before the ride starts saying things like "it's not scary!" Nothing like skydiving or whatever where a trained professional rides with you and goes over what can go wrong and how to avoid that. It's a ride ins family park that was bound to kill someone and finally did due to some combination of faulty equipment + bad judgment.

You have to watch a safety video at the bottom before you hike up the stairs.

One of the YouTube videos shows a small boy at the side, waiting for the next raft. He looks no older than 10, himself. He then yells, "Hope you don't die!" to the adults waiting in the raft (guy in back must have a Go Pro on, since everything in front of him is being filmed). The guy in the middle responds, "Me too!" It's scary and weird to hear, considering the present circumstances. Also, the netting and the frames that it is attached to, looks very close to the top of the riders' heads. If poor Caleb flew from the front spot, directly into one of those frames, it is not surprising he was injured in such a horrific manner.

Finally, though, when all of that is said and done, the GoPro footage didn't appear to be all that scary or fast. The weight of the adult male riders distinctly slowed the raft down as it was going up the second hill. I have to imagine that Caleb's raft was seriously underweight and that his harness released. If the Velcro had released on the front passenger in the YouTube video, he probably would've been fine (although it was clear that person was smaller). Without any weight to hold the raft down, tragedy ensued.

More weight doesn't slow you down on those rides. It makes you go faster and higher.

Wow, no. You are not smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard it reported on the radio that his dad is in the Kansas State Legislature. Can you say "lawsuit"!

It was elected official day at the park, elected officials were allowed in the park at no cost. Why does this translate into a lawsuit?

Please--there will probably be a lawsuit b/c a kid died a horrible death regardless of parents' professions.

Not much good in Kansas. They have a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages.

The slide was built in Kansas because Kansas is the only state that didn't have regulations to prohibit it.

I know it's wrong, because a child just died, but I wonder how the father feels about tort reform and deregulation of industry now?

Yes, it's wrong, you creep.

Call it creepy, but there's one political party hellbent on dismantling regulations and this is precisely the sort of tragedy they're meant to prevent.

There is a time and place for politics. This is not that time. Please --please -- seek therapy.

Therapy? Seriously? For bringing up the point that regulations can help prevent this sort of tragedy? Wow.

Everyone knows that regulations can help prevent safety problems. That's an obvious point. Injecting politics into this tragedy is what is so very bizarre.

The Kansas Republican party would not agree with that statement. They would say that regulations hamper innovation and don't make anyone safer. Caleb's father is a member of the Kansas Republican party.

Karma is a bitch.

I don't agree with Republicans on many things. But I find your sentiment here disgusting. This family is suffering a horrific ordeal. Shame on you.

It is a horrifying ordeal. It is a horrifying ordeal caused in part because of the father's political positions and his role in the Kansas state government. The dad contributed to this event happening. The poor kid didn't deserve it, but his father's positions on low regulation for businesses absolutely created an environment that allowed this to happen.

If Dad was an AA woman who let her child wander into an animal enclosure, people would be ready to burn her at the stake. This father doesn't deserve less criticism.

PP, you are a true asshole. Regardless of the fathers political leanings, this kid died a horrific death. His father had NOTHING to do with it!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to a civil lawsuit, criminal actions should be explored. How this horrific looking contraption could have been open for public use is beyond me.

The guy who designed it is a high school dropout. He dropped out of school at age 24 and he's the 'inventor', the 'creative mind'.
Great idea.
http://grantland.com/features/the-wet-stuff-verruckt-waterslide-schlitterbahn/

So what. He is an engineer. Other pretty impressive people never finished high school or college. What a dumb thing to point out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a link to the assertion that lack of regulation is what allowed this park to build this ride in Kansas?

Slate had an article today

Here is a quote from the OP of the AMA thread:

"OP here. I want to add that Schlitterbahn chose KC for this slide for a reason. Kansas has extremely lax oversight when it comes to amusement park rides. No height restrictions for water slides. The Dept of Labor is responsible for inspecting rides. They have not been to Schlitterbahn since 2012, before the ride was built. The park brings in a private inspector once a year, and those results are not shared with the state. . Their "daily inspections", according to employees consist of employees taking a spin on each ride before park opens. No records of daily inspections have been found. The park has a reputation for feeling unsafe.

I hope something positive will come out of this horrible tragedy. The boy's father is a state rep. The park was full of politicians since it was Elected Officials day. Hopefully this will result in some changes in the law.

I really hope they tear that slide down. It just needs to go. I now dread having to see it every time I'm in that area. I really don't think my family will ever return to the park. A lot of things would need to change for us to go back. I had already decided not to get season passes next year before this accudent. I have seen lifeguards completely ignore people breaking rules so many times this year. They strike me as lazy and untrained."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not only that but there are plenty of YouTube videos showing kids on the ride with adults and the ride attendants casually shooting the breeze before the ride starts saying things like "it's not scary!" Nothing like skydiving or whatever where a trained professional rides with you and goes over what can go wrong and how to avoid that. It's a ride ins family park that was bound to kill someone and finally did due to some combination of faulty equipment + bad judgment.

You have to watch a safety video at the bottom before you hike up the stairs.

One of the YouTube videos shows a small boy at the side, waiting for the next raft. He looks no older than 10, himself. He then yells, "Hope you don't die!" to the adults waiting in the raft (guy in back must have a Go Pro on, since everything in front of him is being filmed). The guy in the middle responds, "Me too!" It's scary and weird to hear, considering the present circumstances. Also, the netting and the frames that it is attached to, looks very close to the top of the riders' heads. If poor Caleb flew from the front spot, directly into one of those frames, it is not surprising he was injured in such a horrific manner.

Finally, though, when all of that is said and done, the GoPro footage didn't appear to be all that scary or fast. The weight of the adult male riders distinctly slowed the raft down as it was going up the second hill. I have to imagine that Caleb's raft was seriously underweight and that his harness released. If the Velcro had released on the front passenger in the YouTube video, he probably would've been fine (although it was clear that person was smaller). Without any weight to hold the raft down, tragedy ensued.

More weight doesn't slow you down on those rides. It makes you go faster and higher.

Wow, no. You are not smart.

I have exceeded the weight limit on a group ride on a waterslide. We were way too high and too fast on the ride. I won't repeat that again.

Schlitterbahn originally planned that the ride have a 1000 pound limit with 4 riders. They reduced it to 450 and 3 riders, because at 1000 pounds the raft gets so much momentum going that it flies off the top of the second hill. All of the energy that you expended hauling your butt up to the top of the ride is expended on the way down. More weight = more energy hauled to the top of the hill = more energy expended on the way down.

It really doesn't matter, though. Riders average about 70 mph on that ride on the way down. Whether the kid was going faster or slower, he was going fast enough to get killed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard it reported on the radio that his dad is in the Kansas State Legislature. Can you say "lawsuit"!

It was elected official day at the park, elected officials were allowed in the park at no cost. Why does this translate into a lawsuit?

Please--there will probably be a lawsuit b/c a kid died a horrible death regardless of parents' professions.

Not much good in Kansas. They have a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages.

The slide was built in Kansas because Kansas is the only state that didn't have regulations to prohibit it.

I know it's wrong, because a child just died, but I wonder how the father feels about tort reform and deregulation of industry now?

Yes, it's wrong, you creep.

Call it creepy, but there's one political party hellbent on dismantling regulations and this is precisely the sort of tragedy they're meant to prevent.

There is a time and place for politics. This is not that time. Please --please -- seek therapy.

Therapy? Seriously? For bringing up the point that regulations can help prevent this sort of tragedy? Wow.

Everyone knows that regulations can help prevent safety problems. That's an obvious point. Injecting politics into this tragedy is what is so very bizarre.

The Kansas Republican party would not agree with that statement. They would say that regulations hamper innovation and don't make anyone safer. Caleb's father is a member of the Kansas Republican party.

Karma is a bitch.

I don't agree with Republicans on many things. But I find your sentiment here disgusting. This family is suffering a horrific ordeal. Shame on you.

It is a horrifying ordeal. It is a horrifying ordeal caused in part because of the father's political positions and his role in the Kansas state government. The dad contributed to this event happening. The poor kid didn't deserve it, but his father's positions on low regulation for businesses absolutely created an environment that allowed this to happen.

If Dad was an AA woman who let her child wander into an animal enclosure, people would be ready to burn her at the stake. This father doesn't deserve less criticism.

PP, you are a true asshole. Regardless of the fathers political leanings, this kid died a horrific death. His father had NOTHING to do with it!!!!!

His father was part of a state legislature that blocked regulations for businesses. Lack of regulation contributed to this child's death. His father had everything to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not only that but there are plenty of YouTube videos showing kids on the ride with adults and the ride attendants casually shooting the breeze before the ride starts saying things like "it's not scary!" Nothing like skydiving or whatever where a trained professional rides with you and goes over what can go wrong and how to avoid that. It's a ride ins family park that was bound to kill someone and finally did due to some combination of faulty equipment + bad judgment.

You have to watch a safety video at the bottom before you hike up the stairs.

One of the YouTube videos shows a small boy at the side, waiting for the next raft. He looks no older than 10, himself. He then yells, "Hope you don't die!" to the adults waiting in the raft (guy in back must have a Go Pro on, since everything in front of him is being filmed). The guy in the middle responds, "Me too!" It's scary and weird to hear, considering the present circumstances. Also, the netting and the frames that it is attached to, looks very close to the top of the riders' heads. If poor Caleb flew from the front spot, directly into one of those frames, it is not surprising he was injured in such a horrific manner.

Finally, though, when all of that is said and done, the GoPro footage didn't appear to be all that scary or fast. The weight of the adult male riders distinctly slowed the raft down as it was going up the second hill. I have to imagine that Caleb's raft was seriously underweight and that his harness released. If the Velcro had released on the front passenger in the YouTube video, he probably would've been fine (although it was clear that person was smaller). Without any weight to hold the raft down, tragedy ensued.

I watched the same video and agree with this. I'm afraid of heights so I wouldn't have made it up the stairs, but the video definitely doesn't make the ride "feel" fast.

I do hope we learn the truth about what went wrong. Not the gory part, but just what lessons need to be learned from a safety perspective. We are not crazy thrill seekers but we do enjoy amusement and water parks. I have always assumed large established parks (Disney, Busch, Hershey, etc.) have many reasons ($$$$) to want to keep people safe.