We have an update on the tragic story of Caleb Schwab.
As previously reported, Schwab was killed on Sunday while riding the Verruckt, a water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas.
The ride has been dubbed the World’s Tallest Water Slide in existence by the Guinness Book of World Records, with its name translating from German to mean “insane.”
Caleb was the 10-year old son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who issued a heartfelt statement about his child soon after this horrific accident took place.
“Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with,” wrote Scott and his wife, Michelle, adding:
“As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now.
“We will see him another day.”
Now, two days after this tragedy, further details have emerged.
And they paint an extremely sad and grotesque picture.
Officials have confirmed that Caleb died from a fatal neck injury, with multiple outlets reporting the child was decapitated.
A witness named Esteban Castaneda tells ABC News that he heard a “boom” coming from the ride and then saw a raft come through.
“Immediately after the raft … you see a body,” Castaneda said.
The ride typically holds two to three people per raft and Castaneda said two women were in this specific raft, with blood all over them.
Castaneda has not been interviewed by police.
But he said he started to run toward the situation when a lifeguard told him there was “nothing” he could do.
And that was when he saw Caleb’s body lying in the water at the base of the slide.
The two other women in his raft, who were not related to Caleb, suffered minor injuries, police said.
Since this horrible incident went viral, we’ve learned that Verruckt’s scheduled 2014 opening was delayed numerous times due to glitches, including one issue that caused water rafts to fly off the slide and into the air.
In this case, another witness (named Kelsey Friedrichsen, who was on her way up the slide when the commotion began below her) told People Magazine of Caleb’s death:
“It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down.
“He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.”
Schlitterbahn officials say all rides are inspected daily prior to opening.
The Verrückt ride is closed, but the park is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.
A memorial service for Caleb will be held Friday afternoon.
“We had many issues on the engineering side,” Jeff Henry, Verruckt creator and Schlitterbahn co-owner told USA Today, two years ago.
“A lot of our math was based on roller coasters at first, and that didn’t translate to a water slide like this. No one had ever done anything like this before…
“It’s dangerous, but it’s a safe dangerous now.
“Schlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn’t a family ride. It’s for thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.”