Water park company is indicted for manslaughter
Ex-manager also indicted in 2015 death of 10-year-old
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A grand jury in Kansas’ Wyandotte County on Friday returned an indictment against the Schlitterbahn water park company, charging it and a former operations director with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and reckless endangerment of a child in the 2016 death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab on the Verruckt water slide.
A 47-page indictment portrays Schlitterbahn and its two top executives as brazenly pursuing the construction of the world’s tallest water slide in a quest to impress producers of a cable television show.
In rushing the slide to completion, the indictment said company leaders:
Did not follow amusement park industry safety standards.
Lacked their own expertise in designing a thrill ride.
Ignored warnings and whistleblowers about the safety of Verruckt.
Failed to maintain the slide once it was built.
And later covered up evidence of riders suffering injuries before Caleb was killed.
The indictment, brought by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, said Schlitterbahn knew the ride was dangerous.
“This child’s death and the rapidly growing list of injuries were foreseeable and expected outcomes,” the indictment said. “Verruckt’s designers and operators knew that Verruckt posed a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or severe bodily harm.”
Schwab died Aug. 7, 2016, when while going down Verruckt his raft went airborne and he was decapitated by a metal hoop that supported a netting system atop the ride. He had been seated in the front. Two women riding with Schwab suffered serious injuries.
Caleb was the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab.
The company manager indicted Friday was Tyler Austin Miles, the local director of operations for Schlitterbahn Vacation Village in Kansas City, Kan. He surrendered to authorities Friday morning and was later released on bond.
While Miles, 29, is the only individual defendant named in the indictment, the actions of several corporate leaders, particularly co-owner Jeff Henry and Verruckt designer John Schooley are described throughout the document.
Winter Prosapio, a Schlitterbahn spokeswoman, said Schlitterbahn took safety seriously.
“Our staff, since we opened Schlitterbahn Kansas City, has demonstrated the highest dedication to safety, from the training of our lifeguards and ride operators, to ensuring all rides have operated in accordance with our strict protocols,” she said in an email statement. “Our team has been conscientious and committed to providing visitors to the water park a safe and enjoyable experience. We are shocked by any allegations of impropriety or negligence on the part of anyone associated with Verruckt.”
Friday’s indictment suggests otherwise.
“Verruckt suffered from a long list of dangerous design flaws; however, the most obvious and potentially lethal flaw was that Verruckt’s design guaranteed that rafts would occasionally go airborne in a manner that could severely injure or kill the occupants,” the indictment said. “Henry, Schooley, and Miles all knew about this problem before the ride opened to the public.”
The involuntary manslaughter charge filed Friday against Miles and the company is a felony count, which carry a sentence of 31 months to 136 months in prison and up to $300,000 in fines.