Schlitterbahn Water Park, Former Operations Director Charged In 10-Year-Old Boy's Death

A water park operator and an executive were formally charged with involuntary manslaughter, it was reported on Monday.

The indictment was in connection with the 2016 death of a 10-year-old boy named Caleb Schwab at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City.

According to a report in People, the Schlitterbahn Water Park of Kansas City, as well as the former director of operations Tyler Austin Miles rushed in operating the 17-story Verrückt waterslide when they were fully aware that the ride was hazardous and would “go airborne more often than the other rafts”.

The indictment also states that the ride, which was built in the year 2012, was allegedly a “spur of the moment” decision made by the water park in order to impress the producers of a Travel Channel show.

Caleb, son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Shwab, became a victim of the ride when he was decapitated on Aug. 7, 2016, as the raft he was on went airborne and “collided with the overhead netting attached to the waterside”.

Schwab was there at the park to attend an event for elected officials when the tragedy occurred.

Two women were also injured in the process.

A spokesperson for Schlitterbahn, Winter D. Prosapio spoke about the incident and said that they were shocked by the allegations.

“The allegation that we operated, and failed to maintain, a ride that could foreseeably cause such a tragic accident is beyond the pale of speculation. Many of us, and our children and grandchildren have ridden the ride with complete confidence as to its safety. Our operational mantra has been and will forever be Safety First …We have operated with integrity from day one at the waterpark – as we do throughout our water parks and resorts. We put our guests and employees safety first, and safety and maintenance are at the top of our list of priorities.”

In addition to that, even Miles’ attorneys Tom and Tricia Bath said that it is wrong to assert that Schwab’s death was “foreseeable to Tyler Mills”.

“Not only had Tyler ridden the slide numerous times, but, as the State is aware, he had scheduled his wife, to ride it on the day of the accident. These are not the actions of someone who believed the ride to be dangerous,” they said.

The report further states that at first the event was being treated as an “isolated and unforeseeable incident” but whistleblowers from Schlitterbahn revealed that officials at the water park had covered up as many as 13 incidents in the past, which also included one involving a 15-year-old girl, whose head was slammed sideways against her headrest, which caused her to temporarily go blind.

After Miles’ indictment, the water park company’s co-owner Jeffrey Henry was also arrested on Monday and booked into the jail in Cameron County, Texas.

He was being held without bond until a court appearance on Tuesday.

Henry's arrest follows the grand jury’s accusations on the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, and its former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, on 20 felony charges.

Speaking about Henry’s arrest, Prosapio said in a statement, “We as a company and as a family will fight these allegations and have confidence that once the facts are presented it will be clear that what happened on the ride was an unforeseeable accident.”

As of now, Miles has pleaded not guilty and turned himself into the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office. A trial has been scheduled for Sep. 10.