Autopsy Report | Caleb Schwab
: The two adult women in the raft with him suffered minor facial injuries from the impact with the netting. 3. Engineering and Safety Failures
On August 7, 2016, Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas State Representative Scott Schwab, boarded a three-person raft. Due to the physics of weight distribution and a fundamental design flaw on the second hill, the raft went airborne.
: Experts noted that Caleb weighed approximately 74 lbs, while the women weighed 197 lbs and 275 lbs respectively. While the total weight (546 lbs) was within the 550 lb limit, the uneven weight distribution likely contributed to the raft becoming airborne. Restraints caleb schwab autopsy report
The forensic evidence and internal park documents led to a series of severe legal consequences for Schlitterbahn and its executives.
The tragic death of ten-year-old Caleb Schwab in 2016 remains one of the most harrowing events in the history of American amusement parks. Occurring on Verrückt, which was then the world’s tallest water slide, located at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas, the incident sparked intense investigations, criminal indictments, and a massive overhaul of amusement park regulations. : The two adult women in the raft
On April 27, 2011, the death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab inside a county courthouse elevator in Missouri shocked a community and exposed painful lapses in oversight that still matter today. The official autopsy and subsequent investigations produced a series of findings—tragic, preventable, and illustrative of broader failures in design, process, and accountability. Revisiting the circumstances of Caleb’s death is not an exercise in morbid curiosity; it is a chance to examine how institutions treat safety, transparency, and the most vulnerable among us.
Caleb’s body struck the metal hoops and netting designed to keep riders on the slide. Due to the physics of weight distribution and
If you are researching the legal or structural impacts of this case, please let me know if you would like to explore the of the slide or the exact changes mandated by Kansas Senate Bill 86 . Share public link
The Schwab family reached a settlement totaling nearly $20 million with Schlitterbahn and other involved companies, believed to be the largest of its kind for a minor's wrongful death in the region.
Amusement parks must carry significantly higher liability insurance policies to operate. Conclusion and Legacy
