Brownback Calls For Review Of Kansas Amusement Park Inspection Laws

Caleb died Sunday on the Verruckt raft ride at the Schlitterbahn WaterPark in Kansas City, Kansas.

Police and Schlitterbahn Waterpark have yet to explain how Caleb sustained a fatal neck injury on the 168-foot-tall ride, which the park said Tuesday would be closed for the remainder of the season.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – The 10-year-old boy killed during a ride on the world’s tallest waterslide was decapitated in the accident, a person familiar with the investigation said.

“I would assume and hope that the Legislature would spend significant time in looking at the issue, and we will, as an administration”, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback told reporters Friday.

“I think they designed this ride, and they figured since stuff was flying out, we better do something to keep people from flying out”, he said.

Caleb’s father is state Rep. Scott Schwab.

State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that a permanent amusement ride must be scrutinized at least once a year by “a qualified inspector”. The state Department of Labor randomly audits those records, but Schlitterbahn’s documents hadn’t been examined by the state for four years.

Riders are harnessed in with two nylon seatbelt-like straps – one that crosses the rider’s lap, the other stretching diagonally like a vehicle shoulder seatbelt.

“Caleb was a 10-year-old child, but in many ways, he was a man of God”, Sprague said. Each strap is held in place by long Velcro-style straps, not by buckles. Riders hold ropes inside the raft.

Ken Martin, a Richmond, Virginia-based amusement park safety consultant, said New Jersey is the “No. 1” state for ride safety, in part because its program includes enforcement and fines, and Pennsylvania is a “close second”. “No words can express the pain we all feel for this awful tragedy”.

Authorities have not said exactly how the accident occurred.

Hass & Wilkerson confirms American Safety Management performed inspections but says it’s completely independent from Hass & Wilkerson.

“It tells me that something that I’ve known from the get go. they’ve had trouble keeping that raft in the chute”, Martin said.

“They’re just dealing with the medical things right now”, says Jerald Ratliff, president of Central Plains Co-Op in Smith Center, Kansas.

The lobbyist, Mike Hutfles, did not return telephone messages seeking comment, and Prosapio declined comment. A Schlitterbahn spokesman said earlier that all rides are inspected daily by employees. Burke said the definition also allows visual inspections, and the general practice is to see that a ride operator does the testing recommended in the manufacturer’s manual.

On a hot, midweek day, business at the park was steady although there were no lines for other rides.

The ride was also half the size it eventually turned out to be.