Chilling documentary investigates ‘world’s tallest waterslide’ that decapitated child

There were a number of safety concerns surrounding the slide when it opened

The Verrückt, which is German for 'insane', was a waterslide at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City.

At 170ft tall, it was the world's highest water slide and would send thrill seekers down its near-vertical 17-storey chute at speeds of up to 70mph in inflatable rafts.

But in 2016, tragedy struck at the record-breaking attraction.

On August 7, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was killed in a horrific accident on the slide when his raft went airborne and hit a metal police supporting a safety net, decapitating Schwab and killing him instantly.

Three years later, the Atlantic produced a short nine-minute documentary about the opening of the slide, the tragedy and the aftermath.

The nine-minute film was made by Missouri filmmaker, Nathan Truesdell, who first heard about the incident on the news.

He told the Atlantic: "My first thought was that it must have been a freak accident—what a horrible, horrible story.

"But once I took a closer look, I started to realise how complicated this story really was, and how this could have happened to anyone who went down that slide."

The Verrückt was the brainchild of Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry who teamed up with senior designer John Schooley in the hope if securing Guinness World Record.

Kansas was chosen as the location for the attraction due to lax state regulations and eventually opened in 2012 after a number of delays due to safety concerns.

The documentary, titled The Water Slide, explains how Schwab's tragic death came about due to "gross negligence, lax state regulations, and the consequences of hubris."

Truesdall said that not a lot of "science or ride engineering" was involved in the testing and design.

He explained: "They were sending sandbags down and basically hoping that they didn't fly off of the slide. The netting that ultimately ended up killing the child was added to prevent the rafts from flying off of the slide completely."

A veteran employee at the park also spoke in the documentary, and recalled being "shocked" at the "lack of training" for employees operating the rides.

She also claimed there were "inadequate safety inspections", which consisted of "people riding down slides one time and saying: 'oh it's okay, you're good to go for the rest of the day now.'"

After the tragedy, the park was closed for three days. When it reopened, the Verrückt was not open to the public.

Henry and Schooley were indicted on charges of "aggravated battery, aggravated endangerment of a child, interference with law enforcement, and involuntary manslaughter."

The pair were accused of skipping "fundamental steps in the design process" and relying "almost entirely on crude trial-and-error methods" in regards to safety testing.

However, they were both dismissed of the charges in February 2019.

Meanwhile, Schlitterbahn Water Park shut in 2021 and the Verrückt was torn down.

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