Kansas City waterpark announces slide closure after 10-year-old's death

Brianna Chambers contributed to this report.

A Kansas City waterpark has said it will close an attraction after a 10-year-old boy died at the park this summer.

Caleb Schwab, the son of a state lawmaker, died on the world's tallest water slide in August.

On Tuesday, more than three months after the accident, Schlitterbahn Water Park made an announcement about the Verrückt ride, where Caleb was decapitated. The slide has been closed since the incident.

"All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verrückt," park officials said in a statement. "In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather, we've never experienced this kind of devastating event. The safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority. We are parents and grandparents ourselves and many of us have ridden Verrückt with our own children and grandchildren over the years it operated."

The park announced that it will permanently close Verrückt and tear it down after getting permission to do so from the court, and after an investigation into Schwab's death is over.

"In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," the statement reads.

Park officials said that they are cooperating with investigators who are still looking into details of Caleb's death.

"We honestly don't know what's happened," Winter Prosapio, director of communications for Schlitterbahn, told reporters in October, according to The Kansas City Star in August. "That's why a full investigation is necessary … This is not something we've experienced."

Another ride will be build in place of the 168-foot slide at a later date.

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