[BigFoot]

(CNN)The 10-year-old son of a Kansas state legislator was killed Sunday when a ride on the world's tallest water slide turned deadly.

Caleb Thomas Schwab was the son of Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele, who issued a statement Sunday night.

"Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those who he came into contact with," the parents said. "As we try and mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in his savior, Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day."

Kansas state police are investigating Caleb's death at the Schlitterbahn water park, which has been closed for the investigation, said spokeswoman Winter Prosapio.

The boy died while riding the Verrückt, the world's tallest water slide, she said. The park released no other details.

According to the park's website, the slide required two to three riders to be strapped in a raft with a total weight between 400 and 500 pounds.

The raft then "will slide down a jaw-dropping 168 foot 7 inch structure, only to be blasted back up a second massive hill and then sent down yet another gut wrenching 50 foot drop for the ultimate in water slide thrills," the website said.

Each rider was required to be at least 54 inches tall. It was not immediately known Sunday whether Caleb met the height requirement.

Thousands of children are hurt annually on amusement rides, according to a 2013 study by the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, which examined data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Head and neck injuries were the most common at 28%, with 1.5% of the injuries requiring hospitalization, the study said.

Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics for 2015 are not available, but a review of the raw data found 45,000 injuries associated with amusement rides and water slides nationwide; about 30,000 of these cases involved those under age 18.

Verrückt, 17 stories high -- higher than Niagara Falls -- propels riders at 50 mph. It's name translates as "insane" in German.

Its height of 168 feet 7 inches is 5 feet taller than the previous record holder, a water slide at a Rio de Janeiro country club. Verrückt was built in Kansas City because it didn't have a height restriction, its designer John Schooley told CNN when it opened in July 2014.

Jeff Henry, owner of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, was at a trade show and decided he wanted to build the tallest, fastest water slide at one of his five Schlitterbahn water parks, Schooley said.

Was just on this water slide this past Friday. Witnesses are saying that the child was decapitated after he was ejected from the raft and forced head first into the safety-wiring surrounding the slide.

[Xploit Machine]

some pics

[Desensitisation]

Was only a matter of time. Build something to be "even bigger" and the subtext will always be "more dangerous".

[candymosh]

I read somewhere that the age requirement was lifted because he met the weight requirement and that several witnesses said the harness was defective on the ride. They also took a portion of the wire safety net off the ride. I'm thinking the poor dude got thrown into the netting too.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...t-water-slide/

[deathlypale]

He was tossed into the netting causing decapitation. The shoulder straps were velcro and his was worn out. I was hoping someone there took pics...

[Susan]

Velcro shoulder straps? Was that a cost cutting exercise having them? Jeez,even if they weren't worn out velcro easily comes apart with force.

[candymosh]

http://abc13.com/news/gruesome-detai...death/1461978/

KANSAS CITY, KS -- A witness to the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas has revealed gruesome details of how the boy died.

Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was killed Sunday while riding "Verruckt" at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. The slide's name means "insane" in German.

ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. He described a horrific scene after the boy's death.

Castaneda said that he heard booms coming from the area of the slide and then saw a body wash down the slide directly after the raft did.

Castaneda said noticed a lifeguard was trying to push the crowd back from the slide, but he continued to try to help because he thought there was someone lying face down in the water.

The lifeguard told Castaneda that there was nothing he could do to help. It was at that point that he noticed the boy appeared to have been decapitated.

Castaneda said two other woman were strapped into the raft, and the first position of the raft was empty. This is likely where Caleb had been sitting.

Castaneda said he had ridden the slide earlier in the day with his cousin's 14-year-old daughter. She had told him that her safety belt's Velcro came undone towards the end of her ride.

Kansas City Police also released more information about the incident Monday, calling the boy's death a "fatal neck injury at the end of the ride." The two women riding in the raft with Caleb suffered minor facial injuries. They were not related to the boy.

Pastor Clint Sprague, the family spokesperson for the Schwab family said they're heartbroken. He said Caleb was a hugger who loved his parents, sports and Jesus.

A memorial service is planned for Friday afternoon.

The park was closed down after the incident Sunday and remained closed Monday.

Verruckt was certified as the world's tallest water slide by Guinness World Records. Riders go down the slide in multi-person rafts and have to be at last 54 inches tall, according to the park's website.

[candymosh]

couldn't get the damn picture to attach to the other text.

[GenghisTronGuy]

Yep. For sure decapitated.

[Samara]

This article quotes the witness's wife, who says one of the boy's brothers was nearby and saw the accident. She said the brother was screaming that he'd just seen his little brother die. I cannot imagine the trauma. I cannot imagine the lawsuit brewing.