• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Documentary shares harrowing details of 'world's tallest waterslide' that decapitated 10-year-old boy

Home> News> US News

Published 10:35 1 Dec 2024 GMT

Documentary shares harrowing details of 'world's tallest waterslide' that decapitated 10-year-old boy

Caleb Schwab tragically lost his life in 2016 at Schlitterbahn Waterpark

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

Featured Image Credit: Family Handout/ YouTube/The Atlantic

Topics: News, US News, Documentaries

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

A chilling documentary shares the harrowing details of the 'world's tallest waterslide' that tragically decapitated a ten-year-old boy in 2016.

Caleb Schwab and his family visited Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas for a day of fun and joy - but the family day out ended in tragedy.

Caleb went on the waterpark's famous 'Verrückt' ride, the world's tallest waterslide at the time, standing at a whopping 169 feet tall.

Opening in 2014, the ride saw people across the US coming to visit, as it quickly became a hugely popular attraction because of its record-breaking heights.

Ride-goers would begin by climbing over 200 steps to get to the top, before climbing aboard water rafts and plummeting down the huge slide.

Advert

People would reportedly hit speeds of 70mph as they sped down the slide, but Caleb ended up being decapitated on his way down.

The young boy was said to have been thrown from the raft towards the netting surrounding the slide - which had put there for safety purposes - and made contact with a metal pole, which killed him instantly.

Caleb Schwab died in 2016 (Family Handout)
Caleb Schwab died in 2016 (Family Handout)

Schlitterbahn Waterpark said in a statement at the time: "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," according to ABC News.

Advert

"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 very seriously. We support effective guidelines that increase guest and staff safety."

Filmmaker Nathan Truesdell produced a short documentary on Caleb's tragic passing, using news and promotional footage to make The World’s Tallest Water Slide Was a Terrible, Tragic Idea.

Speaking about some of the things he learnt while making the film, Truesdell told The Atlantic: "There wasn't a lot of science or ride engineering involved in the testing and design.

Advert

"They were sending sandbags down and basically hoping that they didn't fly off of the slide. The netting that ultimately ended up killing the child was added to prevent the rafts from flying off of the slide completely."

Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry and senior designer John Schooley had been facing criminal charges in relation to the ten-year-old's death, but they were later dismissed.

Tyler Miles, who was operations manager at the time, also had an involuntary manslaughter charge dropped because of inadmissible evidence.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark closed its doors for good in September 2018.

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • Facebook
    9 hours ago

    Prosecutors reveal disturbing reason Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect gave for assassination when his parents asked

    Tyler Robinson was charged with the murder of Charlie Kirk on Tuesday

    News
  • Instagram/paddlefishorl
    9 hours ago

    Scuba diver stole over $10,000 from Disney restaurant and swam away

    It comes just months after Disney Springs tightened up its security protocol

    News
  • Getty Images/SOPA Images
    10 hours ago

    How discount website Wish went from a $14,000,000,000 company to 99% collapse in 10 years

    From a successful, viral shopping app to falling flat

    News
  • Facebook
    10 hours ago

    Prosecutors reveal chilling messages Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect sent to his roommate following assassination

    Tyler Robinson has been charged with seven offences over the murder of Charlie Kirk

    News
  • Terrifying footage shows SUV crashing into barbershop and severely injuring 10-year-old boy
  • 11-year-old boy fatally shot after ‘ding dong ditch’ prank as police release details
  • Parents of 10-year-old boy who died by suicide after 'intense bullying' sue school district
  • Grieving family left outraged after drunk driver who decapitated 7-year-old flower girl is released from prison