The Tragedy Of The World's Tallest Waterslide: The History of Schlitterbahn

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

What Expedition would you like to see next?

[@DemC92]

I think in honor of loch ness monster getting a full refurb at BGW that would be a cool expedition to see. Coming full circle from opening to refurb.

[@tyrannoyoshi]

I’d love to see an Expedition on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot. I’d also like it if you’d do one on some Busch Gardens coaster, and it better have another animated backstory like the Iron Gwazi Expedition or else I’m not watching!

[@arthur.jaanus]

i'd like to see dreamworld Australia wipeout the world's first Vekoma Waikiki wave super flip

[@arthur.jaanus]

and expedition alton towers boneshaker an mondial supernova

[@themeparksandtransport]

Expedition Oakwood!

[@kingcars]

The moment I saw the design of that slide, I told my wife, “This is exactly what I used to build in Roller Coaster Tycoon when I wanted to yeet people out of the park.”

[@tymondcrawford6967]

i didnt know anyone else did this LOL

[@Snarl_Marx]

​@@tymondcrawford6967 I thought _everyone_ did that on Rollercoaster Tycoon lol

[@thankyou770]

😅😅😅

[@robertokandal]

Engineeers also fail. As an official mechanic the design is dangerous becuase ihsa no amrgin of error. So if paramenter of safety change a little bit something was going to happen. I would neve have donne it or allow it. Imagine someone push you insufale down hill with some force, thast the engought to accelerate the thing to for a forbidden speed, maybe it as what hapened the worker that was controlling uphill remebered to push anyone wiht more force.

[@jjay350]

The guys should have just played the game, you can instantly test results and redesign it. But yeah, designs like this never really worked in the game, I would always have to make enclosed tubes for it to keep rafts from flying off the slide. Obviously that wouldn't work IRL.

[@belcurve]

Surely the guy who has no training or qualifications in engineering or physics is the ideal candidate to design & build the highest waterslide ever made.

[@belcurve]

It's actually insane to me. "yeah build a HUGE hill and at the bottom put a little hill to go over" this is called a ramp dummy, and they are explicitly designed to get air time. even having no education you didn't have hotwheels or ride bikes or anything? just no braincells at all?

[@blakewhite3131]

​@@belcurve literally the most psychopathic waterslide

[@traceytrotter9934]

Men pushing the limits? Just think what he could have done for the world with those massive bucks. Nothing like Meth to make you waste your money on an obvious death ride.

[@Loralanthalas]

Surely the State and building inspectors should be held accountable..... oh wait. Never-ending. They kept killing people until they killed a congressmans son. This youtuber who didn't bother to mention the other deaths is fucked up.

[@harrietharlow9929]

No way that could go badly awry, eh? SMDH that someone with no training/qualification would be allowed to "design" something like Verruckt.

[@enigmadrath1780]

"They based the slide off of roller coasters." Guess they forgot the part where roller coasters are ATTACHED to the tracks. Not just carts speeding through bends and loops on nothing but hope and prayer.

[@moosesandmeese969]

Don't even need an engineering degree to figure that out. I knew that when I was 10

[@DdaengEli]

If this guy wasn't stopped I bet he would have tried to put a loop in one. Smh

[@donadrian2688]

0

[@esmeraldadawnfeather6907]

Adventure park, that you?

[@jimwhelan9152]

Yep, all,roller coaster have "upstop" wheels to keep them on the track. There is absolutely no way a hill like this can be safe. The physics say there is an extremely fine line between the raft not being able to get over the hill and flying off it. Just as an example I have had the opportunity for several years to judge "model" roller coasters at amusement park "science days". These "roller coasters" use a marble to go down the track and never have any hills. I sometimes ask the builders why they don't put any hills in. I know the answer. It's always, "we couldn't get the marble to stay on the track, it always flew off."

[@LiveByTheNumbers]

This guy builds waterslides like how I build stuff in Minecraft, just keep making and re-making it until it’s good enough.

[@blabla903]

I'm a structural engineer. I know how much we get paid for jobs like this. There is 0 chance that paying an engineer for a safer design is more money than building the slide over and over and over again.

[@DevilOnlyKnitsLace]

This situation is a perfect example of hubris. You know Jeff had the $$ to pay engineers to design & build a safe, quality slide. What a shame Jeff wanted all the "glory." This is why states' license engineers.

[@rjvw3078]

If I think back to my grade 10 physics work I can figure out that you cant just put this together and hope for the best. Newtons laws , speed, launce angle etc. Absolutely insanely stupid what happened here. Oh and a net for safety. Nylon strings becoming blades that would cut you to bits at high speed. Ok the pieces wont go missing. Wow Stupid beyond comprehension. This is so absurd. And why do some others study to become engineers? While uneducated lunatics are left on their own to engineer an engineering structure but leaving out the engineering part and leave it to back yard mechanics. And then actually put real people and kids on the ride? Do not try and understand it. It in a dumb league of its own. Anyone with half a brain cell will never understand it. You need no brains then you would maybe find it ok because you have no idea how to think.

[@cheerdiver]

The Dunning/Kruger effect at its finest. The poorly educated think they're the smartest people in the world.

[@TheGlovener1985]

Yeah this guy seemed to be extremely arrogant and stubborn. Didn't like to be told what to do. In other words a p.o.s

[@nexaentertainment2764]

Yes but think of the short term gains/savings. -them probably

[@MrAnthonyIII]

The terrible thing was that they were already fully aware that the raft would sometimes go airborne, and yet they covered this up. This wasn't even just a one-time accident, people were already getting injured repeatedly and they ignored it until someone finally died.

[@kavinh10]

if it wasn't the son of a politician, the incident would've been brushed aside or at least not a big deal would've been made of it.

[@skumsters2323]

Sad, but my thought exactly!@@kavinh10

[@avalencia18]

Probably the reason he was let on the ride as well. He did not meet age limit and most likely weight limit either

[@WarrenHolly]

Republicans hate regulations so corporations get away with murder but who cares. Right? They are working on our behalf 😏

[@kod5660]

And noone went to jail.. Outrageous.

[@Dr-Peppy]

What really bothers me is that this all could've been avoided if they didnt have an "airtime hill" on a slide.

[@Sir1188]

Ikr? The dude was hellbent on building a rollercoaster slide.

[@GrimFelArt]

@@Sir1188 Yup. It'd work on a coaster because of the safety mechanisms like brackets that fold under the lip of the rail, holding the car down so it doesn't go flying off the track. That ain't gonna work on a slide... *_facepalm_*

[@TheNinjaDC]

Like, yeah. They could have still gotten the record for tallest slide, and saved millions in R&D. But they were determined to get a f&*k off large airtime hill on a slide.

[@ryanpervola163]

10000000000000% THIS

[@DrawciaGleam02]

"Airtime Hill" lowkey sounds like the name of a Sonic the Hedgehog level..... What is that exactly???

[@DrMD-1]

I work with Schlitterbahn in South Padre Island back in 2012 as a lifeguard. The company didn’t want to hire professional cleaners, so they LITERALLY made us scrub the river ground AND the sewers. At one time, a team of lifeguards were cleaning inside the machine that made the waves of the river. The machine somehow turned on, crushing one lifeguard inside the tank. I remember seeing the ambulances helicopter taking him away. He was declared dead the same week. This company did everything they did to save a dime, and threatened us our jobs if we didn’t scrub the tanks. I’m so glad Schlitterbahn got what they deserved

[@munkywrench00]

jfc

[@Justice4all_001]

Plenty more life guards out there! Best to start scrubbing!

[@Canev821]

I remember that didn’t they not want to report it to osha

[@jacklarue7049]

Boo-fuckin-hoo. "I couldn't sit on my ass all day, getting paid for doing nothing" is all I heard. Get your shine box!

[@jodyterblanche308]

Yoh!! 😮

[@JohnDoe-yp3zv]

33:10 "I'm not going by the standards. This has never been attempted, so I'll be redefining those standards." Me having heard this same explanation regarding the Titan sub and hearing about its implosion due to "redefining standards":

[@MrEyesof9]

Hind site is always 20/20. To be fair however, they obviously had a decent engineering acumen.... this was after all only one of dozens of rides. One of their parks from the time is STILL in operation under their control.

[@TheRealColt45]

ROTFL I was about to post a sarcastic reply re: he was fresh off being fired from Ocean Gate but you beat me to it!

[@bimmjim]

Family" dogs kill 50 people per year in the US. Humans are insane.

[@middleagedgamers7750]

Scary when you think about the fact that proponents for pushing trans ideology are, in their own words "building the plane as we fly it." They are redefining the standards in opposition to truth. Instead of using real science and evidence they are choosing to ignore it for feelings and personal bias to push proven damaging and harmful things on our children.

[@DL-fl5ul]

Punishment should never be money in this case. Always just jail time. It's pretty sick to me that a family wants money because their kid died. In this case and others. That should be last thing on your mind. The wayyy more appropriate response is jail time to offender. There should be no money at all changing hands bc a death. Almost makes me think worse of the parents of the kid. Oh our boy is dead, but now we can afford a $15 million mansion that I will be reminded everyday that I can afford bc my son's accidental death. All parties screwed up. Jeff the owner for making. The lady riding on back for being wayy to big probably ignoring restrictions. The lifeguard for allowing the small undersized kid and being up front and obese lady on. The parents for wanting money after the death, and the judge/jury not sentencing Jeff to prison. Literally every single party did the exact opposite thing that they should do. Everyone should feel horrible about themselves here. For the boy to be decapitated while the next closest dangerous thing was a slipped disk or hurt neck.. that tells me that there was some massive obese woman on the back. You simply don't have millions of riders that got minor injuries and then 1 out of million gets decapitated unless the phsyics were set up exactly that way. Some fat f*ck woman who stuffs her face with cheetos probably ignored the weight limit set for the ride and is partly responsible for the boys death

[@5MadMovieMakers]

I remember this all happening and thinking "well, some rider must have done something dumb" and not realizing till later how much the builders disregarded accepted safety standards. Really sad story

[@loosilu]

The father of a victim was a politician who consistently voted against regulations.

[@teijaflink2226]

Did the father chance his voting after this? Politicians like this frustrated me so much, who constantly vote against things that would make it safety and better for everyone.

[@andreajohnson1212]

​@teijaflink2226 yes, he spearheaded the new law.

[@extec101]

@@andreajohnson1212 shocking he tured straight round and started voting for safety. 🤔

[@Gromitdog1]

@loosilu He also cashed in on $20M rather than the $300K liability damages limit law that he voted for in his home state.

[@Kurt1969]

My brother and I rode that three days before the accident. It's not a ride. It was extremely rough all the way down. Like being tossed of a 40 story building in a raft with a weight on it. It wasn't fun. It wasn't even thrilling to be honest. Just felt dangerous.

[@thicccarteronxbox9930]

I was looking for the comment of someone who rode it, damn that’s crazy, I can’t imagine what it was like to hear that just a few days later someone died

[@j-coasters]

The roughness is one of the things that stood out the most to me as well. I hadn't been on a waterslide that rode that rough. It felt like an old wooden coaster the way it shuffled and bumped along the flume.

[@Kurt1969]

@@thicccarteronxbox9930 What's odd is when I came off the slide, I thought to myself how dangerous it felt? It was rough.

[@Kurt1969]

@@j-coasters Did you see the red 'stain' on the slide before they tore it down? You could see it from the highway. I can't imagine what else that would be. I don't think I would call it a water slide. At all. It's more of an adventure seeking thrill? Certainly not a ride. Amazing it was around that long.

[@Nuttty]

@@thicccarteronxbox9930 I rode it too and it was not worth the wait and it wasn't that exciting. I remember it feeling unfinished back then and even weighing 220 pounds it felt like it would take off. I don't remember the timeline of when I went it was on a road trip in 2014 or 2015

[@danielibarra493]

My best friend and I went on that ride the first summer that it was open. I remember being SO nervous in line, looking up (and up...and up) at the ramp. It only got worse as we went up (and up...and up...and up) the stairs and got closer to the front of the line. We were so high up that the wind was blowing hard and cool despite it being a moderately calm and warm day. I was so nervous that I asked the lifeguard at the top if he had been on the ride before, just so I could get some last-second assurance that I was gonna be ok. I thought I was just being a coward and didn't realize that I was genuinely risking my life by strapping myself into that raft. When I heard about Caleb it broke my heart to think that he might've been scared in line too, only for his fears to become reality. He waited in line for his death, and didn't get to walk away from the ride and go home like I did. Poor Caleb lost his life because he trusted that the adults in charge of his safety knew what they were doing. I was initially saddened to hear about the park closing, but after learning how ownership ignored the need for essential repairs and covered up previous injuries, i realized that this tragedy was inevitable, and that some people really shouldn't be in charge of the safety of others.

[@EriktionEBW]

Was it fun?

[@iheartericcartman]

@@EriktionEBWDawg…

[@woozyguy9]

I rode it too.. It was fun, nothing groundbreaking though, like a good roller coaster drop, but with the novelty of it being a water slide. Getting strapped into the raft though with nothing, but velcro straps did feel.... unusual. Luckily, no incidents occurred. One thing this video neglected to mention is that the kid who died was actually decapitated. When they went airborne Caleb's neck hit the rod holding the net and it sliced into his neck, and he was instantly decapitated. His head and body flew out of the raft and landed on the chute. Can't imagine being one of the other riders on with him, or one of the young workers there witnessing that, let alone being poor Caleb..

[@kohinarec6580]

At least it was quick, not prolonged suffering with quadriplegia and brain damage. This kind of disregard for safety makes me sick. The poor kid was basically murdered by a trial and errorist.

[@evanswackyvideos6027]

​@@woozyguy9Where did you get the details of the incident from?

[@exclusive605]

as an engineer, I dont think the biggest contributing factor was just his lack of formal education albeit lacking strong foundation is dangerous but there's plenty that is certainly learned throughout your career. I think it was likely his disregard for other professionals and his own arrogance to think he knows better than anyone that did him in. Money, power, and a hungry ego are the most dangerous thing in the universe.

[@thinking4myself676]

100%

[@alexalogan8461]

Very true. Most of the accidents and "incidents" I've seen happen have been because of disregard of regulations or guidelines. Also, what you point out is exactly why multidisciplinary teams are needed for projects, especially where health and safety are concerned.

[@tauntdragoon]

i agree his lack of formal training was not the issues it was his pride and the disregard for safety if after the first few injuries if they stopped and found a way to fix the issues to make it safer instead of just sweeping it under the rug if he would have head some of the formally train people and got their input on it on how to try to keep the original vision intact but make it safe but as you said arrogance and ego and his own pride got in the way there have been plenty of people with out formal trianing to go on and make amazing things but they also let those who knew more chime in on it

[@Kadotus]

As an engineer myself, I agree. I have a strong preference to have any critical work of mine verified by others and thoroughly tested. Why would I take it personally, if I failed to see an issue that someone else noticed? I would be grateful to them for noticing it before something bad happens. Being proud of one's accomplishments is a good, natural thing. Being blinded by pride is just beyond stupid.

[@ilRosewood]

I agree. If they would have taken the injury reports to heart and worked on the ride and taken their time they could have gotten to something safe without any formal training. In the end it was hubris that caused the death.

[@TheHookemhornman]

Only time in my life I thought I was going to die was at one of their Texas water parks. I was maybe 8-9, in a race track style wave pool, that had one big area to pull in water for the waves followed by a massive jet area to create them. I was pulled by the suction to the bottom of the pool and my feet were stuck the vents that were sucking in water. I was just spinning in circles. Even as a kid it’s crystal clear now. I thought after what felt like 20-30 seconds “whelp this is it, I’m done”. Had it not been for a heavy set Hispanic man grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the suction, I’m certain I would have died. To this day I wish I could thank him but have no information other than the glimpse of him I had the moment of breaking the surface. Thinking back what really bothers me is that I remember this specific part of the circular pool had a handful of life guards watching the swimmers. I don’t think any of them noticed. Was just a random good Samaritan that noticed me and acted.

[@jayzbroski3154]

Don't forget that you Guardian Angel saved you that day too. God bless.

[@godfrey4461]

@@jayzbroski3154 No, a human being saved him. Thank you to kind strangers. God would have done nothing.

[@Cbd_7ohm]

​@@godfrey4461You can't reason with religious people. They aren't logical.

[@DeadmonFlanders]

@@godfrey4461 Based.

[@colorweaver5070]

Almost getting final destinationed is crazy

[@larryroyovitz7829]

Being a dad of 3 kids, I can't imagine the pain felt by that poor boy's family.

[@AmarFox6]

I bet 20 mil made it worth 😅

[@MadDoodles]

@@AmarFox6Not even close you utter bell end.

[@steampunk-llama]

@@AmarFox6No amount of money can change the fact their kid died needlessly, what is wrong with you

[@fireironthesecond2909]

Want to lend the family one of them?

[@Tryhlos]

​@@AmarFox6 what is wrong with you?

[@kingly.]

My family and I went to that Schlitterbahn less than a month before the accident. My little brother rode Veruckt at least two or three times - at that time he was nearly exactly the same size and age as Caleb. I remember distinctly that my brother was old enough that he could go off on his own in the park so I didn’t have to ride Verruckt with him. I’m a coaster fan and would have ridden it normally, but something about the ride made me nervous and I didn’t want to get on (honestly I think the stairs freaked me out). If I had ridden with him and the friend he brought, it would have been VERY similar to the setup that caused the accident. I think my brother still has the Verruckt shirt he bought after he rode it all day that day, but he’s like 6’2 now so it’s just a keepsake. I realize this is such a “I was there” story but I can’t help but think about it any time I watch one of these videos - it really could have been my brother if things had been a little different and he’d gotten the wrong boat.

[@WaltnPipes]

Me and my family also went right before the accident and I remember being so upset I couldn’t go on it with my family because I wasn’t tall enough

[@discodog4582]

the fact that this guy ended up getting more punished for using drugs than killing a child is insane

[@stevetournay6103]

But unsurprising...it's the USA...

[@extragoogleaccount6061]

Everyone’s anger, justified or not, doesn’t dictate the results in a court of law though. People should also be angry that the state had essentially no oversight or laws on the books that would protect the public and protect that kid when riding amusement park rides like that. Trying to charge the park owner’s with murder and solely focusing all anger on those individuals is just as absurd. Unfortunately, this case is similar to a lot of workspace law in that much of safety code is written in blood. Why did lawmakers in the state decide that there shouldn’t be any regulations on the amusement park industry in terms of rides and that letting those same parks police themselves was sufficient?

[@Pj287.]

@@extragoogleaccount6061 the park knew of multiple injuries before the death happened so yeah they should have been charged hard for murder

[@legendaryash]

@@Pj287. find a roller coaster, besides ones for kids, that do not have injuries reported on them as well. Six Flags Fiesta Texas has the Rattler (funny thing about Fiesta Texas it was originally built and run by the insurance company USAA and one of their subsidiaries) and similarly that ride had to be toned down multiple times due to injuries that were occuring. A death even occured at the similar Texas Giant roller coaster with a guest falling out of their seat in 2013. While each death is tragic and the Schlitterbahn family likely should have done more to ensure the ride was safe for everyone they let on, technically they were following the regulations and guidlines at the time.

[@Idontwantanat]

Or trying to purchase sex from human traffickers

[@MysteryMii]

I remember The Atlantic did a short documentary about this slide that used many clips from the slide and news of the tragedy to tell the history of the slide, and there this was one clip from the opening of the slide where a news reporter was interviewing this boy where they asked if he was going to go on the slide. The boy said no, and when he was asked why, he said the slide looked very scary. Little did they know that boy ended up being the smartest person there that day.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

I think I watched that clip!!!!

[@humanbeing2420]

The Atlantic piece is far more expertly done than this rather amateurish video. It also spells out how the park owners chose Kansas because it has the most lax government regulation of amusement parks (thanks to the Trump party). This slide could never have been built in a blue state.

[@ShiningTitan]

​@@humanbeing2420that's not even remotely true. action park was in New Jersey of all places

[@DL-fl5ul]

Punishment should never be money in this case. Always just jail time. It's pretty sick to me that a family wants money because their kid died. In this case and others. That should be last thing on your mind. The wayyy more appropriate response is jail time to offender. There should be no money at all changing hands bc a death. Almost makes me think worse of the parents of the kid. Oh our boy is dead, but now we can afford a $15 million mansion that I will be reminded everyday that I can afford bc my son's accidental death. All parties screwed up. Jeff the owner for making. The lady riding on back for being wayy to big probably ignoring restrictions. The lifeguard for allowing the small undersized kid and being up front and obese lady on. The parents for wanting money after the death, and the judge/jury not sentencing Jeff to prison. Literally every single party did the exact opposite thing that they should do. Everyone should feel horrible about themselves here.

[@ninedaysjane2466]

@@ShiningTitan It is absolutely true. Kansas allowed parks to "self-inspect" rides. After the incident Caleb's father fought to increase those regulations. He got them.

[@Pengochan]

33:07 Not following industry standards and "redefining standards" reminded me of the Oceangate debacle.

[@marywemigwase3354]

Agreed

[@Mogamishu]

I can assure you the Oceangate Titan was safe and effective.

[@Pengochan]

@@Mogamishuthat seems to redefine "safe", as for effective: sure, only to what end?

[@schedar_cassiopeia]

@@Pengochaneffective in getting down there, not as effective in *staying* down there lol

[@souswodaem1]

​@@schedar_cassiopeiaI mean, technically it was pretty effective at staying down there once...

[@hypotheticaltapeworm]

The absolute unwillingness to take any shred of accountability for this by the family is infuriating.

[@sarahjackson1862]

I love your style. A lot of channels focus on the gore and horror of what happened to this poor young boy, wheras you focus more on the story of the slide and WHY this happened, going in detail with the measures taken by the park to hide the issues with the slide. Really nice work, love your channel!

[@zizarama]

Me too. It wasn't immediate gore and horror, but the whole story of how the park came to be, expanded, etc. I liked and watched the whole show.

[@ViaThroughTheWindow]

I think I have to disagree. I'm still confused about how the child died. It would have been nice if the video mentioned the cause of death and possible factors (was the weight of the raft too low? was it the raft that kept malfunctioning? what about other injuries?)

[@sarahjackson1862]

@@ViaThroughTheWindow due to being too light to ride, the raft took to the air after going up the hill after the first drop. There's netting above the hill to keep people from flying off. The boy hit his head on one of the metal bars supporting the net and was decapitated, if I remember correctly. Nothing malfunctioned, the design was just bad and the raft was too light to ride.

[@childofcascadia]

@ViaThroughTheWindow Medical professional here. He died from a broken neck from impact with slide structure. He was *not* decapitated. One of the medical terms for a broken neck where the break is a complete break between the skull and the top of the spine is "Internal Decapitation". This does *not* mean actual decapitation where the head is physically detached from the neck. It means "badly broken neck on or around the c1 vertebra". Its actually not immediately fatal in 30% of cases. And it can be survivable. But. The media saw "decapitation" and ran with it, cooking up gruesome stories about it. So I havent seen the actual records but my guess is to cause internal decap, his head impacted the slide railing or structure while his body kept moving, which broke his neck. Children are very prone to this kind of injury in high speed accidents, due to their proportionally larger head and smaller body than an adult.

[@samuraisharkie]

@@childofcascadiaI’m very curious on how that sort of injury is survivable. If the spinal cord is severed, isn’t that it for the body? I guess I could see survival with total paralysis or a vegetative state, but when there’s such a drastic break it shocks me that it has even a 70% survival rate. I assume gruesome stories accompanying this particular instance were a combo of the term “internal decapitation” and the fact that there were pictures of blood at the bottom of the slide with “two tarps”. The other two women sustained significant injuries as well though, and I’m sure there was some level of laceration or blood release from the severity of the boy’s injuries. The two tarps could be anything, from pieces of the raft, bone fragments from the one lady’s jaw, to an actual body. I for one am thankful enough that the scene wasn’t nearly as grisly as media makes it out to have been.

[@kathrynjames6151]

I watched that episode they filmed for the slide with my dad when it was first released. My dad is an engineer, and when he saw the design he mentioned that it was very dangerous. The idea of the slide all hinged on the weight of the riders, which is not safe in my fathers eyes, or my own. I remember him saying that someone could get killed if the float ever went airborne during the finished ride. It wasn't long before we heard about the kid who was killed on the slide, and I realized that my dad was right. The whole story behind this slide has made me very weary of any water slides at the parks I have been to.

[@majorpwner241]

Most of them are safe, but there's always ways the rider themselves can potentially mess things up and get hurt. I remember trying to see how fast I could go down a waterslide as a kid by arching my feet and back a certain way, and I was starting to get pretty high up on the walls of the slide. At the end of the day it's on you to know your own limits, and be safe, or not ride something that gives you a bad feeling. Your dad sounds like a smart guy. Don't always wait for proof that he's right to listen to him, haha.

[@danyoutube7491]

@@majorpwner241 You don't get a trial run in a computer simulation to see what actions will get you injured on a ride, so the ride has to be constructed with the possibility that a rider might accidentally or deliberately position themselves in an unconventional way. The whole nature of this sort of design is not suited to a water park ride, the idea was taken from rollercoasters which was foolish.

[@user-zq9bs5yf8k]

I have never, and will never, go on a water slide because of stories like these. My 8th-grade class went to a water park for our pre-grad trip, and I only went in the lazy river. I haven’t been to a water park since.

[@stephenkennedy8305]

Wary is the word I believe your looking for.

[@loosilu]

@@majorpwner241 Kids do not know their own limits, and building a slide that relies on the riders' judgement to save their own lives is negligence.

[@javiermoretti1825]

My best friend is a design engineer, and he pointed out that the ride should have been called Klage instead ("lawsuit" in German). This was a disaster waiting to happen.

[@97I30T]

I’ve lived in the Kansas City area my whole life, and you’re right. That slide had a bad reputation in Kansas City way before that kid lost his life on it. Hell, Schlitterbahn Kansas City never had a great reputation as a whole. It was always a disappointing water park.

[@mendmywings7238]

It's literally do obvious to anyone who has eyes. I mean there's not having an engineering degree and then there's this level of stupidity Or arrogance Or both.

[@MikeBarbarossa]

I'm still scratching my head about the overhead netting It was meant to stop a flying sled from going over the edge. But with the rider's heads being the highest point, how could they not see a rider's head being grated like a giant cheese grater if that happened? They simply replaced one danger with another

[@skeetrix5577]

I bet this guy, and Stockton rush the creater of that titan sub that imploded last summer, would have been great pals since they both gave zero fucks for best industry practices and killed innocent people in the process. look people, if something looks unsafe it honestly probably is and you should avoid no matter any reinsurance told by its operators and just because something like this may have never hurt anyone, doesn't mean it isn't capable of doing so and you being the first victim. the problem is people generally believe that "it won't happen to me" until your laying on the ground with your head 2 feet away from the rest of your body! this is why I have a fear of attractions like this, and why I avoid them because my level of anxiety about these type of things would override any fun I might have on it.

[@skeetrix5577]

​@@MikeBarbarossaafter everything I've seen about this tragedy in the years since, I still can't come up with a good reason why it was built that way. the only thing I know for sure is that it's obvious the chicken wire was a complete afterthought of the whole project after the rafts filled with sand bags kept flying off and flipping over, which would seriously injure or kill anyone unlucky enough to be riding in that damn thing. you could have brought a cucumber on that damn thing, held it up to the wire on the way down and it would have cut it into slices with no effort once soever. did they seriously not give any thought as to what might happen to a person when one gets their raft thrown adrift and comes in contact with that wire at those speeds and with that much force? it almost seems like the answer is that they didn't, because anyone objectively looking at that setup would probably come to the conclusion that was a tragedy waiting to happen. if it wouldn't have been for the 10 year old, by now it would have definitely been someone else. and while I don't blame the victim or his family or anyone else that chose to get on that death trap, people should have used their heads and given it a second thought as to get on that thing or not. just because it's open and people aren't getting hurt dont mean it won't happen, I can honestly say that once I would have seen the chicken wire there wasn't going to be a snowballs chance in hell I'd actually get on some shit like that. there are several roller coasters at my local six flags I've never rode because I don't trust them. yeah I may be a snowflake but whatever I value my life and don't want to lose it by becoming a victim of shoddy maintenance or engineering

[@mistyize]

If you've ever seen this slide in real life, the pictures don't do it justice. It's incredibly high, and incredibly steep. It just looks wrong. It looks like exactly what happened, would happen. I prayed it would never open, and I swore none of my family would ever touch it.

[@97I30T]

Yup. I’ve lived in the KC area my whole life and something about that slide just never seemed right to me. It was massive and it looked kind of eerie lit up at night. To be honest, Schlitterbahn Kansas City never had a great reputation to begin with.

[@mistyize]

@@97I30T facts. Lol I remember seeing it before they put the cage on it, and I could just imagine kids launching off of it right at the top of the hump. You know the place. Lol then when they added the cage I knew the physics had to be off, and that they knew it. It was just... so weird.

[@GwenMotoGirl]

I happened to be in New Braunfels in 1979 that first weekend that Schlitterbahn opened. I didn’t know anything about the park, but I spent a day there. It was a fun day. I was 19. Years later, my daughters and I visited the then expanded park frequently. The slides became more aggressive and my middle daughter and I were hurt on one of them when our heads hit the top cover. The slides were too steep and fast. I never took my daughters back. The park wasn’t fun anymore. I was heartbroken to hear about the ten year old boy’s death and the other riders’ injuries. Jeff lied and lied some more. Greed.

[@StuartFerguson55]

Cool story bro.

[@tylernichols9498]

@@StuartFerguson55you seem like a miserable person to be around

[@rastathebanana]

​@@StuartFerguson55 you think this was a lie? get out of the comment section.

[@KamiNoBaka1]

See, every time I hear about this Schlitterbahn, I think about the original Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas. Which is still open, and still super popular in the summer. Here in Texas, Schlitterbahn still has a great reputation and most people never even knew there was a Schlitterbahn park outside of the state.

[@TheGoIsWin21]

Okay man thank you for this, I was at the start of the video starting to panic thinking one of the bright spots of my childhood killed somebody 😂

[@alexlents4689]

@@TheGoIsWin21Sadly, it kinda did. All the parks were owned by the same people, the same people who were grossly negligent in design and testing to the point that a 10-year-old was killed. All the parks and the dangerous culture that permeated throughout were basically one and the same. No worries, though, Cedar Fair is a good company known for focusing on quality over quantity in their investments and operational aspects, as well as a solid safety record. I highly doubt the Texas parks will suffer under them.

[@JuanGarcia-fd4gu]

@@alexlents4689 no the New Braunfels one was already good before all this

[@sugarpuddin]

Originally it was to be built in San Marcos. But the San Marcos council refused to allow it. San Marcos was and is run by corrupt officials that didn't want to grant the Schlitterbahn family opportunity

[@LeviathanTechWiz]

Had a guy from texas who heard about this. Got to tell him i use to work the ride when i was on a shift. It was crazy bad, and he never knew about it being in kansas.

[@bethanydimuzio8861]

I rode that slide *6 days* before Caleb was killed on it. I had gone to the waterpark with my twin brother's baseball team,. My dad was the coach, and a lot of the boys on the team had sisters who i really liked to hang out with, and they also got to go, so it was a really cool day. The slide was all we talked about on the car ride to the park. We sprinted to it the second we got in the park to get our names put in for a reservation. I remember spending all day excited to ride it. Then finally, it was our designated reservation time! The boys were all teasing us girls about how "dangerous" the slide was and how we could "totally fly right off!" Of course they were playing off of the news stories we had read about the crash test dummies coming out of the rafts. We all thought the news stories were greatly exaggerated for thrill and advertisement, and that there would be no way the waterpark engineers would *actually* open a ride if it was still dangerous. None of us got hurt that day, but less than a week later that boy died on it. The news constantly put up the photo of Caleb in his baseball uniform. I remember feeling so ice cold looking at that. I had just gone on the ride with a good number of boys that looked exactly like that, my brother included. Boys who would have almost an identical baseball uniform photo for the news to put up. Horrific. I hope Caleb's family is doing as alright as they can now.

[@rainscratch]

Your story really paints the reality and random nature of such disasters. This thing should never have been allowed to be built.

[@FatherTime89]

How did your friends and family react to it?

[@1ManNamedDan]

@@rainscratch It wasn't a random act of nature, it was the calculated greed of the park owners and the insistence of a state Senator, the boys father, that regulations such as safety were bad for business. Greed is what took that boy and I hope his father never forgets he was complicit.

[@isabellind1292]

@@1ManNamedDan Do you always misquote what people say so you can use it against them. They didn't say it was a "random act of nature." They said it was the "random nature of such disasters" and followed it up w/what you've just described, only in a nutshell! You're barking up the wrong tree!

[@CT-vm4gf]

@@1ManNamedDanThe random nature of the fact it could’ve been her or any of the boys she was with.

[@shahrzadmassiha7253]

Aw man.....I remember watching the Xtreme Waterparks episode that covered this episode and my dad who was an engineering professor just shook his head and mentioned about how dangerous it was

[@CrimsonID4]

*_"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."_* - Richard Feynman

[@danieltossounian1962]

Excellent …he was referring to the challenger disaster

[@ThomasCarrieri]

This sounds a lot like the OceanGate thing where the CEO ignored safety because he thought he was redifining the industry. Both ended in tragedy.

[@choo_choo_]

Personally, I see the sub implosion as a win. Nothing better than less 1-percenters. The closer to zero it gets, the better.

[@rich_edwards79]

Yep. Don't fuck around with physics, is the moral of the story 👍

[@FreeValen]

I’ve had to explain to a lot of coworkers that the Titan explosion was not an one off. Rich people with big egos do dangerous stuff that hurts people all the time because they didn’t want to deal with the guidelines that ✨exist for a reason✨.

[@pikariocraftf2802]

​@@FreeValenI heard a phrase once, "safety guidelines are written in blood" and thats.. pretty fitting.

[@loosilu]

Yep. And both pushed ahead without adequate testing.

[@RegoRetro]

I don't understand how it's even cost effective to build, tear down, rebuild, and delay openings. It would have been cheaper and obviously safer to have professional consultants throughout the process.

[@scorpion19142001]

"Ya", Sure they could be paid off. Money fixes everything.

[@fffffffflei6589]

Its ego effective

[@liukang85]

cost effective because Jeff saved on paying an external company to do so. But this probably wasn't mainly about costs, it was about making good on missing deadline goals... and ego

[@mystickyonyourface]

Yeah but then those professionals would have said the entire slide was designed unsafe..

[@fffffffflei6589]

@@mystickyonyourface which was true

[@aidenparkhurst1191]

Lived about 15-20 min from this park and went there a few times as a kid. I was always too scared to ride Verruckt but I had some friends that did. Looking back, I'm glad I stayed away from it.

[@trenchfry7492]

I lived in KCK at the time Verrückt opened. I remember anticipating the slide's opening, and every time we drove past the park, I was disappointed to see it still in construction. I was really small and thin, but I wanted to ride it so badly. I remember trying to gain weight just to meet the requirements to ride. I also went to Schlitterbahn every year with my dad's family and my old church, which have both since been cut off from my life. The memories there are bittersweet. I watched my older cousin ride the slide and was so jealous because I was still too small to go myself. My family told me that I'd be able to ride it one day when I'm older. Then the incident happened. The the court case followed and I followed it closely only to find that the slide wasn't properly made. Since I was around Caleb's age, I thought a lot about what could've happened if it were me. I had nightmares, I would pray for Caleb's family as if I knew them personally, and had a fear of waterslides after that. I'm not scared of waterslides anymore, but this video reminded me of that time. Everyone thought it was cute that I felt so much for a random kid because of a waterslide I was obsessed with, but it's anything but cute. Someone got decapitated. It's infuriating that they could let something like this happen.

[@jstravelers4094]

As a child, I would have had all the trust in the world that the mature adults who owned and designed the slide would have put safety of the riders above all else. As an adult, I have seen what the pursuit of money can influence all matter of horrible disgusting decisions. I don't trust anyone anymore. Not until I verify their intentions.

[@CuteCuteJames]

"Everyone thought it was cute that I felt so much for a random kid" do they not have sympathy on your home planet? No wonder you've cut them out of your life.

[@lainiehutchings9805]

I was around his age also. When the ride was finally open my dad would always say when driving pass the park that we will go on it eventually and I would say no way everytime

[@jonasghafur4940]

it truly is anything but cute. to this day, i am certain that moments like this are the reason why we age, it tears out a bit of innocence piece meal. All of a sudden, you don’t feel invincible anymore. I watched a girl of my age, who waited next to me on a bike to cross the street die. She went over with the light still red and got t-boned by a car, impinged between the car and the guard rail. I still haven’t really got over that to be honest with myself.

[@FBIAgent-lq8vd]

im in kck too. people stil regularly visit his grave, myself included.

[@Soooooooooooonicable]

My heart sinks every time I see that picture of Caleb. I still think about his older brother who witnessed the aftermath.

[@AlvinSeville1]

IKR Everything just didn't add up.

[@larrywalsh9939]

*Edit* - I wanted to post this on here because the video doesn't mention it. Caleb Schwab died on that waterslide, yes, but he didn't.... merely die. He was *decapitated*. His head was RIPPED OFF HIS BODY by that netting. The two women he was riding with were also injured, including skull fractures and a broken jaw - and from what I've heard from within the waterpark industry, the woman who was riding behind Caleb was injured by his detached head hitting her in the face. I'm not saying this to shock you, so much as I want you to understand just how shocking and horrific this incident was, far more than you think it is. I want you to hear this and know just how extremely criminally negligent the Henry family was in designing and building this thing. I am furious at these murderers and I want you to be furious at them too. When the Verrukt tragedy happened, I worked at in the engineering department of Whitewater West, one of the biggest waterslide manufacturers in the world. We had an ongoing relationship with the Schlitterbahn people, as we had built a number of their slides and had been consultants on a number of others. I recall the day this event happened, I came into the office, found the news of the dead child, and had a series of horrified reactions switching between "oh, that poor child" and "for the love of god, PLEASE tell me that wasn't us". Turns out that not only had we not built the slide, nor had we officially consulted on it, but apparently several of our engineers had told them that slide was a bad idea. The essential problem of that slide was kinetic energy. Water velocity is a variable, as it can be affected by a lot of different things including wind, ambient temperature, water temperature, slide temperature, variables in the contaminants and solutions in the water, etc. Friction is a variable, due to rider weight being a variable, so because friction and thus water velocity can never be an accurately known thing, you'll never be able to accurately predict the remaining kinetic energy of the raft as it crests them hump of the slide. This means you'll either get "close enough" and the vehicle follows the desired trajectory, "not enough", so the vehicle slides back down to the middle of the slide, or "too much", and the vehicle gets airborne when it goes over the hump. 'Close enough' is not a reliable category, it's like flipping a coin and needing it to land on its edge. Possible, but impossible to control or predict. 'Too little' is the next best thing, the ride did not go as desired but nothing tragic happened. 'Too much' is an absolute disaster, AND IF YOU'RE BUILDING A RIDE THAT HAS "ABSOLUTE DISASTER" AS ONE OF THE MAIN POSSIBLE OUTCOMES, YOU DON'T BUILD THE GOD DAMNED SLIDE, YOU F*CKING MORONS. I am, and will always remain furious at the fools who built this travesty. I'm even more furious with the prosecutors who fumbled the murder case, because it was, indeed, murder - these people KNOWINGLY put the public in danger of death due to their negligence and incompetence, but worst of all is they were TOLD the ride was fundamentally unsafe and they opened it anyway - that's not manslaughter, that's murder.

[@rainscratch]

No one would like to hear the grisly nature of the boy's death. But you are correct, it hammers home just how negligent the designer/s and builders of this thing were. The variables you mention are something that are impossible to factor in for absolute safety. This horrific death trap should not have even made it past a rudimentary sketch.

[@missybarbour6885]

It was an "internal decapitation" which means his head was not detached from his body, but his spine was severed when his neck snapped...

[@Jwayspillz]

wow this is a lot more tragic than they were reporting back then.

[@larrywalsh9939]

This was the first I'd heard of the "internal decapitation", so I suppose that makes it less..... no, no it doesn't, it doesn't make it any less horrifying. But what horrifies me most is anyone who knows about design would look at this concept and shudder because it could never, never be safe, and these assholes went and built it anyway, and that makes me angry.

[@scottyjbd]

@@rainscratchmaybe try speaking for just yourself and not others, it’s important to know exactly what happened so some idiot doesn’t come on here and scream I CAN MAKE THIS WORK and cause this to happen again. The point of knowing what happened is to prevent it from ever happening again, the second we start ignoring these tragedies or pretend to know all the facts is the moment it may happen again.

[@evdiep2164]

I loved Extreme Water parks! It would come on at around 8:00pm and my parents would call me up to their room to watch it. I remember seeing the episode where they we're constructing Verrukt some time around late 2014 to early 2015, before the accident happened. I particularly enjoyed how large the slide was and deemed it my favourite episode. It's crazy to me that such a fond memory of mine was linked to such a horrible tragedy. R.I.P Caleb, you were taken too soon.

[@kriscynical]

I appreciate that you didn't use the channel's normal intro music for this one. It was a nice way to show respect for the tragedy of it. Kudos for that.

[@elevatoralarmcoasterandarc1214]

I get it.

[@Delibro]

I would have appreciated if he wouldn't have used the sensation gasping intro that he did.

[@smileychess]

@@Delibro - Can't please everyone.

[@Delibro]

@@smileychess yes you can, just leave the sensation gasping intro, so easy.

[@nate0031]

@@Delibro And then someone else would complain about something else. If it bugs you, watch something else.

[@rayden.richter]

As a 4th generation New Braunfels citizen and former Schlitterbahn lifeguard and bartender, great job researching for this video! Such an extremely sad situation for everyone but it was very interesting to see this level of detail about a major event so close to home

[@Eric_Seay]

Jeff Henry talking about ignoring safety models because he was making something that models didn't exist for sounds exactly like what Stockton Rush said about his Titan submersible. We know how that went.

[@rainscratch]

Exactly - I don't follow any rules because we are making new rules kind of thing.

[@warrax111]

I REMEMBERED FOR IT, EXACTLY IN THAT MOMENT. Dude, that's awesome, I could not imagine, someone other will have same thinking processes.

[@stevetournay6103]

Yes. But at least Titan only mashed flat a bunch of ultrarich hubris enthusiasts...including the "Jeff Henry" of that story himself...

[@DL-fl5ul]

Punishment should never be money in this case. Always just jail time. It's pretty sick to me that a family wants money because their kid died. In this case and others. That should be last thing on your mind. The wayyy more appropriate response is jail time to offender. There should be no money at all changing hands bc a death. Almost makes me think worse of the parents of the kid. Oh our boy is dead, but now we can afford a $15 million mansion that I will be reminded everyday that I can afford bc my son's accidental death. All parties screwed up. Jeff the owner for making. The lady riding on back for being wayy to big probably ignoring restrictions. The lifeguard for allowing the small undersized kid and being up front and obese lady on. The parents for wanting money after the death, and the judge/jury not sentencing Jeff to prison. Literally every single party did the exact opposite thing that they should do. Everyone should feel horrible about themselves here. For the boy to be decapitated while the next closest dangerous thing was a slipped disk or hurt neck.. that tells me that there was some massive obese woman on the back. You simply don't have millions of riders that got minor injuries and then 1 out of million gets decapitated unless the phsyics were set up exactly that way. Some fat f*ck woman who stuffs her face with cheetos probably ignored the weight limit set for the ride and is partly responsible for the boys death

[@Spamhard]

@@DL-fl5ul Says someone who's never paid for a funeral. Hope none of your family die horrifically and your left in debt trying to pay solicitor, legal fees and funeral fees.

[@tranquilthoughts7233]

I'd say that the core problem here, as so often in the USA, is the complete and utter lack of effective regulations and governmental oversight. Here in germany any waterslide or even just public playground has to be greenlit by TÜV (semi-govermental organisations whose only job is to check stuff for safety) before construction and will be reulary checked by TÜV to ensure proper maintenance is kept up. And yes, that is a giant bother, it delays building and makes it more expensive but in return here in germany we can let our children play on any playground without having to worry that they might die.

[@turbojeremy13]

Should have left the air time hill out. That was the dangerous part. Would have still been a record breaker without it

[@Annie-zr6xy]

The horrific and tragic irony is that Caleb's family was there that day because it was Kansas lawmakers day at the park, as his dad was a state representative. The reason the park was built in Kansas was because of the lax laws Kansas had regarding waterparks. I cannot believe they ever allowed them to SELF INSPECT safety. Especially with safety experts having concerns with this ride from the beginning. Had Kansas had stronger laws regarding waterparks, this wouldn't have happened to Caleb. It probably would have happened somewhere else though.

[@rc01010101]

Completely agree, it's very horrific, tragic and disgusting. I only bring politics into this because it is a central element given the entire circumstances from why the park was built there to who was there. A Republican lawmaker's own son becomes a victim of the typical Republican stance on regulation. The notion that people and their business goals will be self-regulating and do not need govt regulations or most regulations is very sorely and extremely misguided. Not everyone has ethics or acts wisely. As this video and all the coverage of this accident and these water parks clearly show, undereducated or poorly educated people do not understand what (as in how much) they do not understand. Ignorance is a great pusher to foolish ventures. Henry could have hired some very qualified people to help design this, might have been able to open it on time and not wasted money on rebuilds and likely come out ahead financially (avoiding the delays and rebuilds) and without hurting multiple people and decapitating a child who had no idea what could happen to him.

[@KutWrite]

Another example of why government is the worst way to do anything. The park rules said "No one under 14 allowed on the ride." A politician's son is allowed on, even though he's 10. Said son is killed. It's the park's fault?

[@xchalibur77]

@@KutWrite The weight was not met. It would been enough to put another kid on top or the raft to be able to carry weights for cases like this.

[@Sara-jayne79]

It was calebs father that helped pass that law, then fought for tighter laws after his sons death ! He has to live with that and payed the ultimate price !

[@daren7889]

KANSAS is a RED REPUBLICAN state! REPUBLICAN states HATE rules and regulations! Unlike the very, very BLUE state of Maryland! For example: MARYLAND forbids development on our Barrier Islands unlike Florida! Barrier Islands protect the mainland. Assateague Island State Seashore and National Park is only used for Camping! Development is not allowed! Sanibel/ Captiva Island got slammed by Hurricane IAN! These REGRESSIVE Southern states need to learn from smarter Northern States! IMHO! 🤔🤔🤔🤔🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸💚💙💚💙💚🌊🌊

[@GoetiaTV]

This is a terrifying story. Thank you for telling it but man… this is going to stick with me. So many moments of people saying “no, you can’t do that”.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Thanks for watching

[@rabidbigdog]

Land of the free!

[@moonmikuuu]

I always felt connected with this story, I have a little brother named Caleb, and I would be heartbroken of something like this happened to him. R.I.P. little angel. You didn't deserve to die. ❤

[@trexvalleygirl2770]

Wow. You did a great job on this documentary. The manner in which you handled the child's death was respectful and considerate. RIP Caleb.

[@sikufox]

The moment in RCT when you build the ride, but don't test it before opening

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

I was tempted to put a clip of that in

[@alanrocks1234]

Clearly never built Dinghy Slides in RCT very known to fly off 😂

[@goblue5480]

We did a computer simulation of building coasters in physics class.... unfortunately my version came off the tracks from being too fast

[@extec101]

sounds like the loop at action park that got built and not tested properly before use.

[@RamiloTheDragon]

Fiasco Forest's folly

[@Cincinnatijames]

Imagine killing a 10 year old and destroying your family's business because basic engineering was just too much of a hassle for you.

[@rommy143]

Right?! You would think that if the person responsible doesn’t know anything about engineering they would hire some good engineers given the potential liability.

[@edwardleemiller-eo8jp]

@@rommy143- that’s what Walt did.

[@entr0pix]

​@@IzzyTheEditor......thats? thats not what theyre saying...? honey idk how old u are, but i do know ur too old to have the reading comprehension of a 5yo

[@entr0pix]

killing a 10yo in the most violent way possible, in front of the little boys brother no less

[@twopoundsofbeef]

We've all been there brother

[@KKLaw1087]

Truly sad. This place was a childhood paradise for me! I love Schlitterbahn. I told my son about it and he was like, "Cool, I want to go!" And it was like 2 weeks in when I was planning the trip when I heard of the story about the 10 year old who was decapitated on the slide. My son was 10 at the time. 😢

[@verh1014]

First of all, great video on this topic. I was unaware of how much the builders were hiding from the public about the lack of safety for the ride. My father was a carpenter working for someone higher up at the park and our family was given season passes for a few of the first years. What I remember most about the park was the wavy river and the wet handprints of all the kids along the walls trying to time their jumps with the waves and leave the highest handprint. My brother and I would have a blast doing this for hours. Now as a grown-up, all I can think about is Caleb's brother and family, and all the time and fun they will never get back with him. RIP Caleb, I'm so sorry.

[@regorRegor]

Your heart is in the right place.

[@teresaratliff8537]

😊

[@MaxxVelo]

Oh boy, ETP just uploaded, wonder what today's topic is. *Sees Verruckt on the thumbnail*....... Oh no

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

It’s time

[@alexlents4689]

I’ll never understand why they thought it was a good idea to put a *hill* on a water slide with no upstop system

[@racookster]

Because Jeff wouldn't believe anyone who told him his idea was fundamentally flawed. I suspect a combination of riches and meth convinced him that he was a genius. No one could tell him squat.

[@KingRCT3]

To be fair tho, there are many waterslides in operation today with hills. For instance all the Masterblasters (invented by this family, now manufactured by White Water), the ProSlide versions, and some Polin slides that relies entierely on gravity with no water-jets or LSM. There is also that slide in Italy in Caneva Aquapark that is famous for its hill where you're likely to go airborn. And of course none of them feature any upstop.

[@kevzilla2336]

The craziest part is that @29:14 you can see what look like some sort of upstop or alignment system at the start of the ride... yet they decided it wasn't needed at the hill...

[@Whyusemyname]

I think their upstop system was the netting. It did its job.

[@overlordsmashalot3891]

> let's put hill on slide death > tweak death > tweak death > tweak danger > release to public

[@TheRealColt45]

The amount of time and research you put into this video is truly amazing. Very well done!

[@moonlightstudios6479]

Jeez. I remember watching a show on television about this when they were still designing it. It was supposed to be this incredible waterslide. The dummies they sent down kept losing their heads.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yeah!

[@Kurt1969]

And that's how Caleb passed sadly enough. I can't imagine the horror from the other riders on board. I can't remember where I read this but heard Caleb's head had hit one of the passengers behind him and that was one of the injuries suffered. So tragic and I had no idea how rushed this project was as well as not being designed by a real engineer. Had I known that, I would have never stepped into the raft. Three days before the accident! I had no desire to go to the park, but my brother wanted to go so we did. That slide was not fun. It was rough and not in the least bit enjoyable. I made a comment below that it was literally like being tossed of a building in a raft with weight in it!

[@Kurt1969]

@@ExpeditionThemePark That was excellent and tasteful. Thank you. It was hard driving by that slide before they tore it down. So sad.

[@michelleb7399]

When the tragedy occurred I could hardly think of it beyond through the parents’ perspective and somewhat of the general others who were there, witnessed it… but to be a passenger with Caleb… unspeakable trauma. I loved water slides, roller coasters, all that stuff as a kid. I never had any fear, having fully trusted that the engineers knew what they were doing and there’s “no way” adults would allow these things to be built and put their (brand) name on it if they didn’t make completely 💯 sure it was totally safe. There are still no words to describe the individual nor collective trauma things like this cause.

[@zukostryder]

@@Kurt1969🫣🫣🫣

[@gentrywalker]

It's absolutely wild watching this because my dad was business partners with Jeff BEFORE Schlitterbahn was founded, and designed rides for it in the 80s. I've heard a lot more than this from his firsthand account.

[@leonideschnuppe]

'Schlitterbahn' is not a made up german word. It realy exists in german language and means "sliding surface made of ice or smoothed and icy snow". We used to make these in winter in the schoolyard when I went to primary school 😊 Oh and the news anchors in the video funnywise pronounce 'Schlitterbahn' 'Schlidderbahn'. So it sounds like my regional german dialect 😅

[@Dr-Weird]

Kansas has a huge German immigrant population, not modern mind you but from the wild west days. German Mennonites I believe was the majority.

[@ClementinesmWTF]

Texas actually does have a German dialect (Texas German) and New Braunfels is part of the belt of cities that has it. It’s not a surprise that it’s pronounced the way it is given that’s how the dialect sounds anyways (imagine a Texas-accented German).

[@leonideschnuppe]

@@Dr-Weird I just googled "Deutsche in Kansas" (Germans in Kansas) and found a lot of websides in German language about the best German restaurants, stores or bakeries there. Oh and blogs by people who moved from Germany to Kansas or planning to do so. I didn't know this is a thing.

[@leonideschnuppe]

@@ClementinesmWTF I knew about Texas German before, but now did a bit more research. I liked that in English it's 'airplane', in German it's 'Flugzeug' and in Texas German it's 'Luftschiff', what means 'airship' in German. Confusing 🙈

[@ChrisHilgenberg]

Rare/weird example of the t to d switch, but instead of an English word (like water being pronounced 'wader' and metal 'medal') it affected the German word's pronunciation here 🤣

[@Timbeon]

Coming back to this video almost a year later to say that I've seen a lot of coverage of the horrific death on Verruckt that sensationalizes it for shock value, and I really, really appreciate that this video doesn't do that and is instead a dry, well-researched look at the shoddy practices that led to the tragedy and its aftermath.

[@hakeempokedex9814]

I will never get over the discount prostitute for 10 day passes. This guy really messed up his entire family’s futures.

[@SweetestHoney86]

I thought prostitute was some kinda typo... I've since finished the video

[@stevetournay6103]

Probably not, actually. Just put a bit of a dent in the net worth...

[@Whyusemyname]

The best part is, I’m pretty sure the park had closed for the season at that point and it never reopened so those passes were useless. I hope he paid with the passes because he was too broke and didn’t have all the cash but he was probably just being a cheap ass like he was know to be.

[@DL-fl5ul]

This is why people consider those who don't go to college as losers. Didn't see his UT educated brother do this. Nope, was the non college educated despite his family having plenty money to pay for him to go. it's one thing to be broke and not go to college. It's another to come from a family with millions and not go to college. You really have to be a f*ck up to be the 2nd.

[@R4ZOR154]

I was a lifeguard at that Schlitterbahn for four summers, '11 to '14 so I wasn't there for the accident but that slide always gave me a bad feeling. I never got to operated it because they only let the more experienced lead lifeguards run it. Which is understandable since most of the regular lifeguards weren't even 18. When the details of the accident came out, I was shocked that they let that kid ride in the first place. According to the rules when I was working there he was too young, too short and placed in the wrong spot on the tube for the ride. In front ahead of two larger adults the front of that tube catching air was almost inevitable with that kind weight imbalance.

[@michelleb7399]

I was wondering about that, meaning about his size and his location in placement. As a kid who rode a lot of rides, water and otherwise, i remember having to wait out my turn in order for heavier/larger riders to be allowed on certain rides to balance the weight, etc.

[@freeculture]

Exactly, at the very least he should have gone in the middle. but even so the total weight of the raft may have been too low, so two big noes the rider operator could have spotted and prevented. But you can see in this very video they seemed to often put the younger kids in the front seat, so the park wasn't instructing the operators properly either.

[@daren7889]

KANSAS is a REPUBLICAN state! The so called "PRO-LIFE" party! Where Life begins at conception and ends at BIRTH! All they really care about is MONEY! IMHO! MARYLANDER here! 🤔🤔🇩🇪🇨🇭🇺🇸💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊

[@forasago]

I'm baffled that you and two others are discussing the placement of a rider on a ride *as a factor in how safe the ride would be*. That should never be a factor whatsoever. The ride should work with no riders on it, with four obese people on it, with any random mix of small children and giant adults etc. There needs to be a big TOLERANCE around the possible scenarios. The moment you're building a ride that only works safely under certain conditions that require a team of lifeguards to oversee you're already recklessly endangering people.

[@TheSetadoon]

I was a lifeguard at KC schlitterbahn from its construction (they hired us early and made us do jobs such as sweeping newly built footpaths and sanding and painting lockers) from roughly 2008ish-2010ish. I remember in 2008 there was a selection of lifeguards as to who would be supervisors, one of the supervisors chosen was the general manager of this park when the accident occurred. I remember being salty I was passed over but looking back I am glad I moved on...that being said, almost 100% of the equipment used in that park was driven north from texas...picnic tables, lockers, section of ride...they also brought their entire labor force from texas as well. Point is...I think they were trying to cut costs in every way they could. The general manager who I knew back then was a pretty nice guy...hardworking too...oh well.

[@muppetsretrofan8873]

This is one of the most tragic theme park accidents ever [right next to Great Adventure's Haunted Castle fire, another accident that could've been avoided], and there were so many red flags that were ignored. I feel really bad for Caleb's family.

[@chellesama8256]

His father routinely voted against regulation of businesses. Reap what is sown.

[@KamalasFakePolls]

​@@chellesama8256🙄

[@phyrr2]

@@chellesama8256 That doesn't really say much dude, you're grasping at karmatic straws for that one.

[@Wulfslove]

@@chellesama8256 I agree but disagree as well. That little boy didn't deserve to reap what his father had sown, except in a Biblical sense which is abhorrent to me but probably acceptable to his parents. Every god I have ever studied is either a fraud or an evil being. Imagine you are a good god, now imagine that you know everything that has and will ever happen, now imagine that you are all-powerful and can right any wrong with a mere thought. There is no evidence that all of these things can be true of god at the same time. Evil is allowing or enjoying the pain of another against their will. Good is wanting to ease or erase that pain no matter who or what is experiencing that pain. What all-knowing, all-powerful god that isn't evil could allow children to have excruciating bone cancer and die slowly? That happens all the time in our world along with a trillion other atrocities that god allows (if he/they exist). I'm still a spiritual person, I just don't believe in all-knowing, all-powerful, benevolent beings. I believe in small gods or spirits that can grant favors but can't fix or see everything.

[@kristoffer8609]

@@chellesama8256 Disgusting way to think. The poor boy had absolutely nothing to do with that, and his father didn't deserve his death for it. That you have likes on your reply is absolutely abhorrent and says a lot.

[@Tsukionae]

I’d seen this incident covered by other channels in the past but not with this much history of the park before. I really enjoyed the deep dive and it’s an instant sub from me!

[@vholt1000]

I live in Kansas City and I remember watching it get built. I’m a huge daredevil, but something looked off about this slide. So I was never really keen on trying it. My best friend asked me if I wanted to go on it with him. I told him no, something is off about that slide. I think someone may actually die on it. Two weeks later I was proven right. How awful. I wish I had been wrong.

[@vholt1000]

@@snatchinyopeople I’m not. I was right about it.

[@WaterCrane]

Caleb Schwab hit the overhead hoop so hard he was decapitated. There was a news clip soon after the accident that showed the bloodstained slide - that was legitimately disturbing to see.

[@XxXnonameAsDXxX]

How in the hell, I mean how does one gets decapitated, how can they go so fast?

[@clevelandwhiteknife1084]

@@XxXnonameAsDXxXthe weight of the tube. Doesn’t matter how fast they were going.

[@marimcge]

😢😔💔

[@childofcascadia]

@XxXnonameAsDXxX He wasnt decapitated. He suffered "internal decapitation" which is basically a medical term for a severe neck break where the skull/head seperates completely from the vertebrae but is still attached to the body. Its actually survivable in about 30% of cases if the damage to blood vessels and spinal cord isnt too severe and treatment is given right away. But the media saw the word "decapitation" in the medical records and ran with it. But basically, he broke his neck badly at the base of the skull. Does it make it any less awful, no. But, as a medical professional it bothers me that the media says he was "decapitated" to make it more sensational and gruesome, this is a young boys life we are talking about.

[@jsun7972]

@@childofcascadiathanks for cleaning that up! Your comment would be good not just under a reply so other read it

[@coreyhiggins3475]

I had to watch this one in pieces cause we all know how this ended! You were far kinder to folks that ran Schlitterbahn than you needed to be. Thank you for telling this story on your channel and honoring that young man by doing so!

[@behellmorph456]

The loss of an innocent life, the end of a family business, a place of joy for many people, all gone because someone was hellbent on getting some air time.

[@whatever-qx9wx]

It is wild I remember seeing the promo video for this ride in my senior year of high school. I thought it was wild and showed all my friends and family, felt envious I didn’t live near it so I could try- Then the accident happened…Such a terrible thing. I feel terrible for the women who were in his raft as well.

[@deus_ex_machina_]

Yeah, they sustained serious injuries, and the middle one got smacked in the face by his limp head. Hopefully it was an internal decapitation, not a separation so she and bystanders (including the boy's father, a Republican legislator who'd voted against regulation) didn't have to see that horrific sight. Also, the loader should've known better than to load the lightest rider at the front, a front-heavy raft wouldn't have gone as high.

[@ravenID429]

@@deus_ex_machina_ It wasn't internal😞

[@MinhMinh-eh5wo]

​@@deus_ex_machina_ lightest riders are usually to almost always at the front. What do you think will happen if you fall down and the heaviests are at front? You are flying straight out of the slide, whether it is high or not. This is basic physics

[@clarasn40]

8:05 for anyone interested, insano is still open and working, it’s located in Fortaleza, Ceará. i grew up watching people go down this slide (but i never had the courage to do it myself). they even made a mini version of insano in the 2010’s. the difference is that the park in brazil actually followed safety protocols and had qualified engineers building (and maintaining) the slide. it’s crazy to think that the same person who came up with the idea for insano was so horribly irresponsible and made something that put thousands of people in danger and killed that sweet boy. he and the other culprits should be rotting in prison

[@DybalacalPranks]

The American waterslide should never have been formatted as a rollercoaster type slide in the first place

[@danielbrennan9122]

Eu sou Americano mas ja foi la 3 vezes, eu adoro Beach Park e o Insano. Tambem gosto muito a piscina de ondas! 🤙🏻

[@DybalacalPranks]

@@danielbrennan9122 eitah!! Muito interessante!!

[@danielbrennan9122]

@@DybalacalPranks Eu amo Ceara' muito! 🫶🏼

[@JoshuaHo-i6b]

I disagree, you accept that there is possible risk on any form of entertainment ride, anything can go wrong, in this case I'm betting that Caleb was too light for the ride, blame the operator who let him on.

[@KingOfErehwon]

I am no engineer, but as soon as I saw the netting over the top of the slide, I instantly cringed as I imagined being shredded on the netting or my head slammed against the hoops holding up that netting if the raft went airborne -- which is exactly what ended up happening to someone. How could that not have been obvious to the designers? Did that basic insight actually require a higher education? Goodness!

[@stevetournay6103]

They were rich, arrogant, and didn't give a crap...

[@leeharrison8222]

@@stevetournay6103 And one of the 'designers' had a history of being a meth addict

[@lisafarrell5996]

That is basically what happened the little boy flew up and hit his head on one of the steel netholders and he.was decapitated. 😢

[@swirlingabyss]

A lot of their rides had that netting.

[@StuartFerguson55]

It's clear that your not an engineer because you would have seen the simple solution to this problem. Just remove the netting. Easy peasy.

[@MtHermit]

I lived in KC from 2006-09 and drove past the construction for this park all the time. I was pretty bummed that it hadn't opened before I moved. I remember the Schlitterbahn Sucks signs and all the delays. So many warning signs and red flags leading up to this death. It's sad to see

[@rabidsmiles]

This was an amazing documentary of the whole ordeal. I wanted to thank you for not sensationalizing Caleb's story and being respectful of the young man who lost his life tragically.

[@RubbishNotTrash]

I remeber being at that park when theyre were still building it, and another time when they were testing it, and then one last time a week before the accident. It just looked like an accident waiting to happen. The whole kansas city park always felt rushed and half done to me. It was a weird feeling after seeing the news about the accident because a week before I almost rode the slide but bailed last seccond. Ever since then, before they took the it down, seeing the slide in the distance whenever I had to drive by felt so ominous.

[@spinlok3943]

Oh absolutely. The rest of the park just looked so cheap and half baked. The service at the concession stand was abysmal too.

[@antivanelfroot6111]

My sister could have been hurt on this ride. Something that wasn't mentioned in this video was the velcro seatbelts that would easily come apart. My sister's came undone on the hill and if she hadn't snapped it back down, she likely would have been injured or worse. I grew up going to this park. It was fun, unique, and worth going to with friends and family. But it hurts to know that after all the cover-ups and failures, the charges were dropped.

[@flamingspinach]

You're telling me they actually used velcro for safety restraints on this ride? Jesus...

[@TheZackofSpades]

Not every failure warrants or requires a conviction. It does sound to me like the consequences of this disaster were swift, severe, and equitable. While maybe not everyone that failed Caleb was held accountable, it doesn’t like Mr. Henry will ever leave this behind him

[@cassandralyris4918]

"We're redefining what the safety standards are." is code speak for, "We don't know what we're doing and there are no safety standards in place because no one's been dumb enough to try this before. YOLO!"

[@joeboi85]

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a more well-researched video on KZbin. Down to the small detail about how they opened their South Padre Island location to compete with Edinburg’s struggling Super Splash park (which happened to close a few years after). Great job!

[@Trainboy1EJR]

There is like zero information on the accident itself, from the weight of the riders to the seating position. If I remember right, it was 2 98lb females and a 50lb boy, with the boy in front, creating the perfect recipe for lift off.

[@jaball77]

It's despicable that nobody ended up going to jail for this. It's insane that they decided not to retry the case, especially when they concealed and destroyed evidence... Sounds like home cookin' at the DA's office to me. Unconscionable.

[@YellaBellaReno]

Any one person who would have went to jail for this would have been a scapegoat. This took many, many people’s’ incompetence to occur.

[@larrywalsh9939]

Every person who had a part in designing, building, and okaying this disaster of a ride should currently be serving time in prison for murder. They knew it wasn't safe. They opened it to the public anyway, and they ripped the head off of a 10-year-old child because they apparently thought professional engineers don't know anything and should be disregarded when they say the ride is inherently and grievously unsafe.

[@trishoconnor2169]

Double jeopardy had probably attached, so the prosecutor didn't get a second chance. It's frustrating, but I wouldn't want to live in a society where prosecutors could just keep trying people over and over until they got a guilty verdict. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes we have to let some of the truly guilty walk away.

[@larrywalsh9939]

@@trishoconnor2169 in my opinion, it should have been a mistrial and they should have been retried.

[@trishoconnor2169]

@@larrywalsh9939 But that's not how the Constitution works. If the mistrial is after the trial is officially started, then I don't think they can try again. In this particular case, that's very frustrating. They probably could have gotten the indictments without showing that video to the grand jury, and then they might have been able to get it in at the actual trial, when the defendants' attorneys could have added whatever information they felt appropriate. But now we'll never know. I just hope those men have carried a sense of their responsibility for this. I think it would have been good if the settlement of the lawsuit had included a requirement that on a regular basis they be shown age-progressed photos of what Caleb would have looked like if he had lived. Caleb at 11, at 15, at 20 … That's the person their eagerness to be the biggest and fastest took away from the world.

[@imageword5576]

Something like this happened to me on a water slide a few years ago. It was the kind you go down without a raft, and there was an overhead ceiling to the slide. The angle was so steep and I gained so much speed that I went airborne and hit my head on the ceiling several times and lost control of my body altogether for a couple seconds.

[@endoraismygma]

Yikes. I hope you reported it. Scary

[@purpurina5663]

The same thing happened to my cousin me, except there was no overhead ceiling. She came off the "vertical", straight down slide most of the ride down. She was trembling, so scared she couldn't swim away when she got to the receiving pool. Meanwhile, I was on the "wavy" slide (no turns, just downward waves) and on each curve I bounced about a foot off the slide, my legs and arms completely out. I remember shooting into the pool with my heart in my throat, my bathing suit up to my armpits, and 💩 about to come out. No laughing matter though! Never again!

[@_.chimon_]

he died on my tenth birthday. we went to a water park on my birthday that year. This is so so terrible. Hope he's resting in peace

[@silmarian]

This feels like something that would have happened in the 70s or 80s, not just a few years ago.

[@VidaBlue317]

Yeah I think there was a water park in New Jersey that had several deaths, and I don't even think that's why it closed -- but that was the '90s, so the possibility of death probably added to its popularity and mystique 😂

[@silmarian]

@@VidaBlue317 Action Park, yeah. Not many people died, at least as compared to amusement parks in general at the time and supposedly none after the late 80s. Injuries were a different story, though. They had a ride not unlike this one, but it was fully enclosed on the hill. It shut down the first time in the 90s.

[@someotherdude]

@@VidaBlue317 I went there, it was called 'Action Park'. I was a teenager as were my friends. The place kicked the hell out of us, we were all sore and black and blue, we saw several people get hurt there. Crazy how easily you could get hurt.

[@pinkdarkman]

Welcome to Republicans' America. Take away all the safety laws that were written in blood in the 80s because you care more about companies than people, then be shocked when the laws you got rid of would have saved your son's life. Truly no care at all for anyone's well being. They only care about shoving as much money in their pockets as possible. Well, he got his wish. He sacrificed his son for 20 million dollars. And they say human sacrifice doesn't exist anymore.

[@infamous1857]

I remember seeing this. A 10 year old decapitated in front of others and what was supposed to be harmless fun. Horrific. Apparently there was blood all the way down the slide. RIP Caleb. Your loss of life may have saved many more.

[@eliosborne17]

Yep the blood was visible from the highway for years

[@ZheyaHawk]

​@@eliosborne17 fr???

[@rosieo5481]

@@ZheyaHawkyup.

[@sweatshopkids]

@@ZheyaHawk fr??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[@skilledwarman]

​@@rosieo5481there's no way it wouldn't have been washed away instantly by the jets

[@coldramen8620]

I was a lifeguard at the New Braunfels location around when this happened. It was absolutely horrific to hear about.

[@kimhohlmayer7018]

This was so much better than any other review of this case. Thank you!

[@calebwells9838]

I grew up in Missouri and my mom was obsessed with the Park and Jeff Henry, we had season passes and we went all the time. I went to college in Kansas and was at the park the weekend that Caleb passed. It’s a weekend I’ll never forget

[@XlittleXdrummerXgirl]

For anyone who's interested in more of the story, Texas Monthly did a quite good longform piece a few years ago, that touches on everything from the history of Schlitterbahn to the impact of this tragedy on the victim's family.

[@randomnobody8770]

He paid for a prostitute with theme park passes while on a meth binge during his murder trial. Yeah, I'm interested.

[@derekstocker6661]

RIP Caleb, such a sad and needless tragedy.

[@bamainguy]

excellent piece (and magazine in general)

[@huflpuf5034]

The boy's brother saw it all happen and ran to try and notify someone. One cannot imagine what trauma he went through.

[@mischr13]

@@randomnobody8770 wait, what? who?

[@maximillianlylat1589]

Im from New Braunfels, schlitterhahn was always such a big name, brought in lots tourists, also a popular summer job for the locals. Doesnt help the rivers nearby are a big deal in their own right. This episode hit me the closest to home despite the incident being at a further location. My heart goes out to Caleb's family

[@A-Gordon-Brown-Stan-Account]

Nice profile picture.

[@coldramen8620]

I'm from New Braunfels too. Did my time as a lifeguard at Schlitterbahn. I remember when the story of the death came out. It was absolutely awful.

[@sparkyobrian6417]

I grew up there too, left in 82. i personally didnt care for schlitterbahn, we hung out at stinky falls in highschool

[@legendaryash]

I am from San Antonio, and in the late 80's to early 90's after our neighborhood summer swim leagues we would always end the season with a trip to Schlitterbahn. It was such a great park because there always seemed like there was tons to do, especially when they opened up the other parts of the park, and they would let you bring food and stuff so it wasn't even that expensive. It's sad they got so big and let money and crazy ideas not only kill Caleb but ruin the legacy of their family as well.

[@TexasHoldem-p9q]

I graduated in 1980 from high school our class went to the Dude’s Ranch and lazy river. I remember a group of us girls getting caught in an under current after being flipped out of the inter-tube. Luckily I could swim but a couple of girls couldn’t. The struggle became really intense with a lot of screaming and panicking. Fortunately several white boys who were strong swimmers came and rescued them. I love water and fell in love with Schlitterbahn. As an adult I took my kids there in the 90’s. I rode all of the insane rides and ran off and left my kids with their friends, which I would never do as a cautious mother but something about that park brings the kid out in me. I hate to hear of this tragedy which could have been avoided. I also think back about the safety of some of the rides I been on. I believe he didn’t receive enough time, and the “good ole boy” system was at play. Texas is a hot mess when it comes to justice. But karma is real, imo.

[@moiraatkinson]

What a shocking story! I feel for the other family members but I have NO sympathy for Henry. I’m also gobsmacked that in the modern USA, people can build a dangerous water slide, operate it and charge the public and the state in question doesn’t seem to care or even inspect it. Originally advised that nobody under 16 should ride it, he covered any warning with stickers and sent someone’s 10 year old child to their death. I don’t know what he’s doing out of jail tbh.

[@Faith_Soprano]

The first time I ever watched something about this accident, I remember there were a lot of comments where people blamed the other riders. They said the boy died because the woman riding behind him lied about her weight. I don't know how stupid one has to be to believe that the safety of a ride would depends on the words of riders about their weight, but even that aside, the fact that the safety of the ride was at all dependent on the riders' weight to the point where the weight being off could actually mean a possibly fatal accident would occur just says to me that the ride never should have existed in the first place.

[@yushkovyaroslav]

There are plenty of extreme attractions out there that if you were to come in underweight or under height you would be under a large risk of dying. I don't understand how people can dismiss the fact that millions of people who rode this slide did not die XD. It's like saying if a 1 in a million people on airplane dies, then all air travel is unsafe. It became unsafe when proper maintenance was not done and the lack of informed rules in riders age, height and weight were not met. The main criminal negligence here was improper communication of risks and allowing a 10-year-old to ride this slide. Not teaching the crew on how to properly position the people riding the slide. And proper maintenance done on the slide. And the biggest design flaw anyway was probably the net itself. Using metal bars, it was unsafe method of stopping rafts if they were to go airborne. Also not to mention there are incidence in rollercoaster that were perfectly designed with "engineers and physicists" rating at about 4.5 deaths per year across the US due to the same issues. The difference here I suppose, was communication.

[@PersephoneDaSilva]

​@yushkovyaroslav Not to mention that the original age requirement by professionals was 16, then the team working on it lowered it to 14, before removing it all together.

[@billbarney4937]

ill bet politicians were paid off to let safety standards become non-existant

[@zombiechicken7114]

But if the riders were weighed it would not matter if she did lie??

[@SaschaPallenberg]

You can't get a more German name for this than "Schlitterbahn". Haven't heard this since elementary school in Germany, when we used to create our own "Schlitterbahn" on the schoolyard by pouring water on the asphalt. Thank you for bringing back these memories

[@your_belief_vs_everything]

I think most people just assumed that the people who design and operate water park attractions, are skilled designers/engineers. It's scary to know just how far money will get you despite having no qualifications.

[@Darkminer86]

New Braunfels resident here. The original owners of Schlitterbahn should have just stayed in Texas. I still visit Schlitterbahn semi-frequently during the summers though & I'm glad that the original park owners sold the parks in New Braunfels & Galveston to another company. They actually give a damn about the employees & safety of visitors, properly closing off areas that look even the slightest bit dangerous.

[@platovaya]

Hey, a bit off topic. He pronounced "Galveston" as "Gavel-stone", but isn't it pronounced "Galf-stun"? It's been bothering me. Sorry, I guess it's my brain's way of not thinking about the tragedy.

[@Darkminer86]

@@platovaya The official Pronunciation is "Gal-vuh-stin". Hope that clears up any issues!

[@agdewey]

What a heartbreaking story. They installed netting, to prevent the rafts taking off, but didn't think about what would happen, if a raft did take off! 😱

[@Kunfucious577]

It’s weird cause when I heard about the net, I thought about what if you get caught in the net. If the netting was like a steel piece, you’d get graded like cheese. If it was netting, I’d imagine a lot of bone dislocations. He just wanted it to get done so bad that he rationalized everything that could go wrong.

[@j.r.shartzer]

This is one of your best videos. What strikes me most is how recent this was and how much they were still able to hide and get away with. Be careful at you local amusement parks. Trust your gut. If it doesn't feel safe, it might not be.

[@yushkovyaroslav]

lol yes lets forget that 10s of millions of people ride that sht safely every year because one of them died. Might as well throw air travel out of the window, because 1 airplane out of a million flights crashed. If anything, the negligence was letting a 10-year-old ride in the front of the raft creating a nose light weight distribution. Was he sitting anywhere else it would not be a problem. Was he not 10 years old, it would not be a problem.

[@j.r.shartzer]

@@yushkovyaroslav tens of millions of people did not ride this safely.

[@yushkovyaroslav]

​@@j.r.shartzer Yeah, probably not tens. I miss typed that. from what I see is it was operational for 2 years and had total of 13 incidents 1 resulting in death. Park like that probably nearly a million visitors a year. Or let's say even half. And assuming that half went and half of that went multiple times. We can estimate maybe at around half a million to a million rides a year. I suppose that would be more accurate. I guess it would be above it the nation average 1 death per 50 million rides. But my point was for the comment that you made about "be careful at your local amusement parks" that was just funny.

[@imageword5576]

I just don't ride amusement park rides

[@Banyo__]

I worked for a museum where accident reports were taken extremely seriously---everything double documented, scary lawyers in suit meetings once a month, video footage reviewed, recommendations for improvements that had to be implemented and documented in the form of who specifically took care of what and when and how....I say this to say take that stuff seriously as it should be taken. If you're ever working for a company that's asking you to shred such documents, or hide evidence, or lie about what you've seen, please know that you may be temporarily saving your job, but in the long run when the s---t hits the fan, you're going down with the ship, and usually it's the little guys that get thrown to the wolves first before they ever get to the ones at the top. Even worse is by helping cover up something like this, you put potentially other visitors, clients, employees, or yourself at risk for injury or death because someone thinks making a buck is more important than safety or human lives. Don't be the reason someone doesn't make it home.

[@brianfitch5469]

I seriously have to ask what kind of museum are you working at where people are getting injured where lawyers are coming in monthly. Doesnt sound like a museum Id want to go to.

[@jimwednt1229]

​@@brianfitch5469 Why do you assume that 1 can only know information pertaining to his profession ? Some of us are wise because we enjoy investigating our interests and learning . In so doing we compile vast stores of information that we sometimes reference, from time to time, to shed light on a variety of subjects and circumstances to be helpful.

[@brianfitch5469]

@@jimwednt1229 you still didnt answer my question. What kind of museum retains so many injuries it needs monthly mandatory lawyer meetings. Your comment makes no sense. Never did i say anything about knowing things outside a profession. Im asking about his profession in the museum industry.

[@KylanHurt]

As a civil engineer, I find it hilarious that enough people came together to build this thing, and apparently no one spoke up adamantly enough about the flawed design.

[@edwardleemiller-eo8jp]

They were so obsessed with having the worlds tallest slide that they ignored all the laws of physics.

[@ExpeditionThemePark]

Yup!

[@zonilo1]

And their obsession got someone killed and the "Justice System" was a joke for for patting him back on the shoulder.

[@ruthanneluvsvacuuming6653]

And why didn’t it have to be inspected and proven safe before it could open

[@ScofieldStudios]

They were so obsessed with whether they could. They didn't stop to think whether they should.

[@loosilu]

@@ruthanneluvsvacuuming6653 It wasn't required by law

[@fairyhollowcreationsmarsde2777]

That poor wee child an avoidable tragedy, your heart just breaks for the family. Safety should always be put first.

[@KittenBowl1]

I remember seeing this on the news when the tragic incident happened. I saw something that looked like red paint splashed all over the net and the second part of the slide. It was a horrific scene and they vividly described this on the news of how and what happened. It was so shocking I recall this scene clearly. They later removed the clips. My heart sank when I saw the boy’s photo on TV news. They didn’t announce how much they settled out of court then, wow $20 million now I know.

[@LadyBeyondTheWall]

Yeah, it's one of those horrible things you see that many years later you can still picture in your mind absolutely perfectly, like it's been burned into your brain. Ugh, it's awful and sometimes wish it was something brains didn't do.

[@TheGlovener1985]

​@@LadyBeyondTheWallyup, no wonder why some turn to drugs. More power to ya if you can power through without the need.

[@janetgood6332]

It was very visible from the busy highway, and it remained that way until the police investigation was complete. It was so horrific. I'm sure there are pictures of it somewhere, but at the very least it should not have been on the news.

[@wesleyrhoads1894]

I was at a hotel across the highway when this happened, I still remember seing the first responders and knowing something serious had happened.

[@lanceware2417]

What I don’t get is if it was so unsafe that they had to put a wire mesh cage around it to keep the rafts from going airborne, how would that have made it any safer? People would just hit the cage, which is exactly what happened. It boggles my mind that this ever got built.

[@mattk8810]

They didnt expect the person to be beheaded…

[@platovaya]

​@@mattk8810but.. alone when you realize they were aware, did calculations, had the information about the speed.. To me, it looks like a grater you pass at 60mph at a distance of.. 50cm? Well, nein, danke!

[@iliketrains3546]

I find it ridiculous that after numerous tests of the slide, they didn’t think of removing the airtime hill as it was causing most of the issues, even when they redesigned it

[@segue2ant395]

Jeff: "No model for this exists" RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: "Am I a f****n' joke to you?!"

[@angelaroseneder7980]

That's SO true, man! Those heights are insane

[@MarsJenkar]

Yep, and if you'd tried to build this as a dinghy slide in that game, you'd definitely be risking a crash at some point.

[@ezzy0308]

I miss that game

[@Zorothegallade-gg7zg]

THE RIDE NEVER ENDS

[@thecraftycyborg9024]

@@ezzy0308- there’s an iPad version of the original game!! I love it! I was raised on the original in pc. I remember my freshman year of college, I spent Christmas break at my desk playing that game for hours every day as I hadn’t had time for games all semester.