Grand jury on Schlitterbahn death has been convened in Wyandotte County
A grand jury has been meeting this month in Wyandotte County to explore possible criminal charges in the 2016 death of a 10-year-old boy at Schlitterbahn Vacation Village in Kansas City, Kan., The Star has learned.
Several sources told The Star that the grand jury, a secret proceeding where jurors consider whether prosecutors have enough evidence to show probable cause that a crime was committed, was convened and has been meeting in the Wyandotte County Courthouse. Those sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of a grand jury proceeding.
An attorney familiar with the proceedings told The Star that the Kansas attorney general's office requested documents from Schlitterbahn related to the construction, design and engineering of Verruckt.
The Kansas attorney general has handled the long-running investigation of Caleb Schwab's death on Verruckt, once billed as the world's tallest water slide at 17 stories in height.
William Burns, court administrator for the Wyandotte County District Court, referred questions on Friday about the existence of the grand jury to the Kansas attorney general's office. On Thursday and Friday, law enforcement officers have stood guard outside of Burns' office, where the grand jury is said to be meeting.
Jennifer Montgomery, spokeswoman for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, declined to comment. So did a spokesman for Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree.
Winter Prosapio, spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn, said the company was not aware of the grand jury.
"We have received no notice from anyone in the AG's office regarding a grand jury," Prosapio said.
Verruckt, a thrill ride that opened to much fanfare in 2014, took three riders strapped to a raft down a steep, 168-foot plunge before climbing a hump and eventually coming to rest in a pool of water.
Schwab, the son of Kansas Speaker Pro Tem Scott Schwab, died when his raft went airborne on the hump that follows the initial descent and collided with a netting system that was supported by metal poles. An autopsy report on Schwab confirmed that he was killed when a metal pole struck his neck and decapitated him.
It's unclear whose idea it was to install a netting system, which was meant to keep riders from flying off the slide. In the days that followed Schwab's death, a spokesman for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., said local government officials had insisted on the netting system as a safety measure. He later retracted that claim.
Schlitterbahn officials have never discussed Schwab's death in detail. Two women who were on the raft with Schwab and who suffered serious injuries reached confidential settlements.
The Star spoke to amusement park safety experts who questioned the wisdom of having such a netting system, both because of the danger it posed to riders as well as having a slide designed such that riders would need a netting device to be kept from flying off.
Whether any actions or decisions by those involved in the making of Verruckt rises to criminal liability would require prosecutors to establish a high burden of evidence.
"In order to be criminally responsible, you have to have a degree of knowledge such that you virtually willed the event to happen," said Blaine LeCesne, a professor with the Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law who teaches civil procedure and criminal law. "It's a very, very high standard in order to charge someone with criminal negligence."
Schwab went to Schlitterbahn on a day when elected officials and their families could attend the water park free of charge. Schwab's family later settled with Schlitterbahn and others involved in constructing the slide for nearly $20 million.
Schlitterbahn has wanted to tear down Verruckt, a constant and visible reminder of Schwab's death that towers over the vast commercial development in western Wyandotte County, but a court order has kept it intact as investigations remain ongoing.
This story was originally published March 16, 2018 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Grand jury on Schlitterbahn death has been convened in Wyandotte County."