Scott Schwab has spoken out on every parents’ worst nightmare:
The death of his child.
Last Sunday, 10-year old Caleb Schwab was killed while riding what has been deemed the world’s tallest water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The structure stands 168 feet and seven inches tall.
It has been under controversy in the past for questionable safety regulations, with its opening delayed several years ago as a result.
Caleb was the son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who has issued a new statement in response to the horrific tragedy.
“While we try to step forward into the new normal of life without Caleb in our presence, we find hope with the current investigation into the incident to provide answers and assurances that such tragedy will not strike again,” Schwab wrote.
Schwab was writing on behalf of his wife and three surviving sons.
They were all of at the water park that afternoon for a family outing and Schwab wanted to pass along their gratitude for the outpouring of support.
“Words will never convey the appreciation Michele, the boys, and I have for all those who expressed their love and support the last week and a half,” he wrote.
“‘Thank You’ seems so inadequate to express our appreciation, but it is the only phrase we have. So, from the depths of our hearts, we thank you.”
A couple days after Caleb’s passing, grisly details of his death were made public.
Officials, for instance, have confirmed that the boy was decapitated by the slide.
A witness named Esteban Castaneda explained to ABC News soon after the incident that he heard a “boom” emanating from the ride … and then he saw a raft come through with a “body” on it.
There were also two women on this raft and they were covered in blood.
“It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down,” another onlooker told People Magazine.
“He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.”
The 168-foot water slide posed problems for the park early on. Its 2014 opening was twice delayed, on one occasion because rafts flew off and into the air.
A spokesperson for the water park says it is committed to finding “answers to the tragedy,” while a Schwab family attorney, Michael C. Rader, says park is cooperating with the investigation.
“I can say that my firm and I along with our team of experts are doing everything in our power to ensure that all questions surrounding the cause of this tragedy are fully answered,” Rader wrote in a statement.
Early last week, meanwhile, Scott Schwab and his wife responded to the death of this son as follows:
Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with.
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.