Forensic investigations determined that the raft Caleb was riding in went airborne as it ascended the second hill of the 168-foot slide. Caleb, sitting in the front seat, struck a metal support brace for the overhead netting system, which caused the fatal injury. Safety Restraints:
Kansas passed much stricter laws regarding the inspection and regulation of "stationary ride" attractions to prevent similar tragedies.
A Kansas grand jury later indicted the park's co-owner, the lead designer, and the construction company on multiple charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The indictments alleged that park officials knowingly maintained a dangerous attraction and hid evidence of previous injuries on the ride. Case Dismissal and Settlements
Public interest in the and official forensic findings remains high due to the horrific nature of the accident and the systemic corporate negligence it exposed. The Forensic Reality of the Autopsy Findings
Two women sharing the raft sustained serious facial injuries, including bone fractures, but survived the accident. Key Investigations and Safety Failures caleb schwab autopsy report
Parks are legally required to report any serious injury to the state within a strict timeframe.
That day, Caleb was riding in a three-person raft with two women from Hays, Kansas. According to police reports, the accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. As the raft crested the second hump of the slide, it went airborne. Caleb, who was sitting in the front, was thrown upward and collided with a metal support pole that held up a safety net, which was designed to prevent riders from being ejected from the slide entirely. The collision was fatal.
: The impact with the metal hoop sliced into his neck, resulting in immediate decapitation. He was found deceased in the pool at the bottom of the slide. Incident Details
This section analyzes why the accident occurred based on the indictment against park executives. Forensic investigations determined that the raft Caleb was
: The autopsy and forensic findings confirmed that Caleb was instantly decapitated . The injury occurred when the multi-passenger raft went airborne and collided with the metal support brackets holding up the ride's overhead safety netting.
The investigation revealed that the Verrückt had a troubled history long before Caleb Schwab’s death. The ride had been delayed from opening in 2014 due to numerous glitches, including early tests where rafts—even those carrying sandbags—flew off the slide. In response, the creators added more netting, Velcro seatbelts, and weight restrictions, but these measures proved to be fatal stopgaps. Eventually, a grand jury indictment described the slide as a "deadly weapon" that had injured at least 13 people—including minors—in the roughly six months it was operational. The indictment alleged that the ride "was never properly or fully designed to prevent rafts from going airborne" and that the boy's death was a "foreseeable and expected outcome".
If you would like to explore this topic further, please let me know if you want to look into: The specific enacted by Caleb's Law
The two adult women accompanying Caleb suffered minor facial injuries but survived the incident, as noted in the police report. Eyewitnesses at the scene described a horrific aftermath, with reports of blood on the white flume of the slide and the boy's body lying face down in the pool at the ride's conclusion. One witness reported seeing a lifeguard attempt to push people away from the scene, telling them there was nothing to be done as the boy had already died. A Kansas grand jury later indicted the park's
According to forensic evidence and eyewitness testimonies integrated into the state's investigation:
While criminal convictions were not realized, the civil justice system responded swiftly. The Schwab family reached a confidential multi-million-dollar settlement with Schlitterbahn and the ride’s manufacturers, which was reported to be the largest consumer wrongdoing settlement in Kansas history at the time.
The subsequent investigation by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office uncovered a pattern of what prosecutors termed "gross negligence" and a reckless disregard for human life. In 2018, a grand jury issued multiple criminal indictments against Schlitterbahn executives, including park co-owner Jeffrey Henry and Verrückt designer John Schooley. The investigation revealed several startling facts: