The Witnesses Of The Schlitterbahn Accident Go In Detail About The Tragic Event
Witness to water slide accident: I saw him slide down, 'and then I saw the blood' [...]
Witness to water slide accident: I saw him slide down, "and then I saw the blood" https://t.co/7EqQ8ToDxd https://t.co/zUYdNUrXBm
— New Day (@NewDay) August 10, 2016
Witnesses to the water slide accident that claimed the life of a young boy have spoken out on what they saw during his tragic final moments. The 10-year-old boy, Caleb Schwab, was killed while riding the Verrückt water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas on Sunday.
The two females that witnessed the crime, Jess Sanford and Melanie Gocke, joined CNN to recall the accident.
"When I heard a noise that didn't sound like it was supposed to come from that kind of ride, that's when I turned around," Sanford said.
She continued, "I didn't understand what was going on so I only saw Caleb sliding down the last half of the slide, and then I saw the blood."
Sanford recalled Schwab's friend frantically calling for help when Schwab hit the end of the slide. Medics soon arrived on the scene.
"They realized that he was dead, so I don't think they tried to revive him," Sanford stated. According to CNN, medics then attended to two women who had been riding in the same raft as Schwab. The women sustained minor facial injuries.
Days before Caleb Schwab was killed, reports have revealed that riders were only strapped in with Velcro restraints. "I was kind of shocked," 12-year-old Noah Boganowski said. "I thought there would be belts holding us in but instead, it was just velcro. It was across your chest and across your legs. You would just stick the velcro to the other piece."
Know for its unparalleled, 168-foot vertical drop, the Verrückt is the world's tallest water slide.
Schlitterbahn re-opened on Wednesday at noon, but the park has stated that the Verrückt slide will remain closed for the rest of the season.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Schwab family, and we commend Jess Sanford and Melanie Gocke for their bravery in detailing Caleb Schwab's final moments in order to shed more light on this horrific event.