Waterslide where boy died to be demolished

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

The owner of a Kansas water park said its announcement that it will demolish a towering waterslide as soon as investigations into the death of a boy on the ride this summer have concluded was motivated by uncertainty among park patrons, not any pending legal settlements involving the accident.

Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement Tuesday that the “Verruckt” ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kan., will be permanently removed from its tower “once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court.” The Texas-based company called the move “the only proper course of action.”

Billed as the world’s tallest waterslide, Verruckt has been closed since Caleb Thomas Schwab died on the ride Aug. 7. The boy was decapitated, someone familiar with the investigation previously told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Two women in the raft were injured.