: The ride utilized hook-and-loop (Velcro) straps rather than rigid over-the-shoulder restraints, which investigators later argued violated safety guidelines. Investigation Findings

These findings led to Schlitterbahn closing Verruckt permanently in 2018. The ride was demolished later that year.

On August 7, 2016, a day of family fun at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas, ended in unthinkable tragedy. Ten-year-old Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Kansas State Representative Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele, was killed while riding the "Verruckt" waterslide — at the time, billed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest waterslide.

While initial police reports vaguely cited a "fatal neck injury," the subsequent autopsy conducted by the Wyandotte County coroner's office confirmed the boy was decapitated. The Incident: