Family of 10-Year-Old Boy Decapitated by Water Slide Awarded $20 Million
Caleb Schwab was killed at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City in August 2016
Debbie Emery | May 4, 2017 @ 6:14 PM
Last Updated: May 5, 2017 @ 3:35 AM
Schwab Family
The family of the 10-year-old boy who was decapitated at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, last year was awarded $20 million in a settlement on Thursday, according to court documents.
Caleb Schwab, who was the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was accidentally killed in August 2016 while riding the Verrückt — a 168-foot-tall ride that boasted a top speed of 65 m.p.h. and whose name means “insane” in German.
Two other women who took the ride with Caleb and suffered serious facial injuries have also settled their claims against the companies involved in the making of Verrückt, the Kansas City Star reported.
Of the money awarded to the Schwab family,$14 million comes from SVV 1 and KC Water Park, the two companies associated with Texas-based water park company Schlitterbahn; $5 million from Henry & Sons Construction, the general contractor on the 17-story ride that broke records for the height of a water slide; $500,000 from Zebec of North America, which manufactured the raft that carried up to three riders down the slide; and $232,125 from National Aquatics Safety Co. and its founder, John Hunsucker, which consulted on Verrückt.
While the Kansas attorney general’s office is continuing to investigate the events on Aug. 7, 2016, it’s believed that Caleb’s raft went airborne and that he then hit a netting system placed above the slide that was propped up by metal poles.
According to CBS News, former parkgoer Paul Oberhauser was riding with a friend and his 9-year-old son about two weeks before Caleb died, and found similar faults with the ride. “As soon as I hit the bottom of the first curve the shoulder strap just kind of busted loose,” he said.
In April, Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill to strengthen regulation of water parks in Kansas, requiring insurance companies representing the parks to hire a certified engineer to inspect the rides.
Rep. Schwab, Caleb’s dad said on the floor of the Kansas House that the bill was for “the next kid who goes some place in Kansas for a fun weekend,” CBS reported.
How 21 Movies and TV Shows Portrayed 9/11 (Photos)
Friday marks 19 years since 9/11, and Hollywood has struggled all that time with how to address it. Here's how 21 films and TV shows tried to tell stories tied to Sept. 11, 2001.
"South Park" (2001)
The first episode of the always topical dark comedy to air after 9/11 revolved around America's invasion of Afghanistan.
Comedy Central
"The West Wing" (2001)
Creator and showrunner Aaron Sorkin wrote this special episode, about a fictional terrorist attack, and it aired just three weeks after the attacks.
NBC
"Law & Order"
The 9/11 attacks occurred during Season 12 of the long-running drama, and several later episodes revolved around it, including one episode where a woman's remains were dumped at Ground Zero in order to cover up a murder.
NBC
"24" (2001)
Shot a few months before the attacks, the Fox spy thriller became more timely and relevant than it ever intended to be.
Fox
"Third Watch" (2001)
This drama about New York City's first responders remembered 9/11 with a non-fiction episode, followed by two episodes putting its main characters directly in the aftermath of 9/11.
NBC
"25th Hour" (2002)
Spike Lee's drama, featuring a pivotal scene within sight of Ground Zero, was the first major film to confront 9/11. It premiered in December 2002.
Disney
"Rescue Me" (2004)
The Dennis Leary dramedy focuses on a firefighter who lost his best friend in the 9/11 attacks. The events of that day would reverberate through the entire series.
FX
"Tiger Cruise" (2004)
This Disney Channel original movie saw Hayden Panettiere's character dealing with the events of 9/11 as they happened, while on a cruise with military members and their families.
Disney Channel
"United 93" (2006)
Paul Greengrass took a straight, fact-based approach to tell the story of the passengers who tried to take back the plane.
Universal
"World Trade Center" (2006)
Oliver Stone's drama portrayed the events of 9/11 from the perspective of first responders.
Paramount
"Reign Over Me" (2007)
Adam Sandler played a man struggling five years after the 9/11 attacks killed his wife and daughter.
Sony
"Postal" (2007)
Uew Boll's crass comedy opened with a scene joking about fictional 9/11 hijackers - suggesting that they flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center by accident.
Vivendi
"Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" (2008)
The comedy threequel followed the best friends as they're detained and sent to Guantanamo Bay, after a paranoid fellow plane passenger mistakes Kumar's bong for a bomb.
New Line
"Fringe" (2009)
The season one finale of the sci-fi drama featured an alternate world, where the 9/11 attacks hit the White House instead of the Twin Towers.
Fox
"Julie and Julia" (2009)
Set in 2002, Amy Adams' character Julie starts cooking as a way to get away from her stressful day job of fielding calls from 9/11 victims during the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
Sony
"Remember Me" (2010)
The Robert Pattinson drama had a twist ending that culminated in the 9/11 attacks. Many people found it an odd fit.
Stephen Daldry's adaptation of the Jonathan Safron Foer novel followed a kid who lost his father in the 9/11 attacks.
Warner Bros
"Homeland" (2011)
Set in a distinctly post-9/11 world, the series started off mirroring the themes of paranoia and terrorist threats present in the US in the years following the attacks.
Showtime
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (2012)
Mira Nair's thriller is based on Mohsin Hamid's novel about a Pakistani man (Riz Ahmed) who's a rising star on Wall Street until 9/11 upends both his career and his personal life as he becomes the subject of suspicion.
"9/11" (2017)
Charlie Sheen, Gina Gershon and Whoopi Goldberg star in a flawed adaptation of a play called "Elevator" about people trapped in the World Trade Center that fateful day, but it never becomes the tacky exploitation exercise that you might expect.
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From “United 93” to special episodes of “The West Wing” and “Law & Order,” here’s how Hollywood has portrayed the terrorist attacks on screen
Friday marks 19 years since 9/11, and Hollywood has struggled all that time with how to address it. Here's how 21 films and TV shows tried to tell stories tied to Sept. 11, 2001.