The family of a boy that was decapitated on a waterslide has received $20 million after the murder charges were dropped.
Caleb Schwab was only 10 years old when he was involved in a tragic incident that saw him killed at a Schlitterban Kansas City water park in 2016.
The family, best known for their involvement in the Kansas House of Representatives as part of the Republican party, were visiting the park on Elected Officials Day under free admission courtesy of the park.
Caleb and his 12-year-old brother were excited to be going and when the pair arrived, they went to the ride.
However, what they didn't anticipate is the tragic ending that a family day out would have.
The two brothers were split from each other, with Nathan taking the plunge first and then Caleb and his two sisters following behind.
After a thorough investigation, it was said that the raft Caleb was on went "airborne" and causing Caleb to collide with netting above the slide. The impact of the collision decapitated the young boy, which killed him instantly.
Caleb's body was floating at the bottom of the slide in the pool when staff ran over to attend to him.
The employees immediately called emergency services and cordoned off the area to avoid other park-goers from seeing the gruesome scene.
"There was a gentleman who wouldn’t allow me to come close enough to see what was going on, and he just kept saying, 'Trust me, you don’t want to go any further,'" Michele Schwab, Caleb's mother, told ABC News. "I kind of knew in my mind that I shouldn’t see it, that I probably don’t want to see it."
A grand jury initially filed charges of second-degree murder against Schlitterbahn owner Jeff Henry, designer John Schooley and Henry and Sons Construction Co.
Later, however, a judge dismissed the charges.
Calbe's father, Scott Schwab, said that he couldn't fathom the news and even turned to a passerby to confirm it.
"I said, 'I just need to hear you say — is my son dead?' and he just shook his head," Scott Schwab said. "I need to hear it from you ... is my son dead? And he said, 'Yes, your son's dead,'" he told the outlet.
After a lengthy legal battle, his family was awarded nearly $20 million in settlements from the companies involved as per court documents.
The Kansas City Star reported that SVV 1 and KC Water Park would pay out $14 million, while two other parties would be contributing undisclosed amounts to the family in order to settle the lawsuit filed against them.
While the company names and amounts initially remained undisclosed, a motion was filed stating that the amounts paid by each defendant should be released to ensure that those responsible for Caleb's death were held accountable for their actions.
In a statement given to NBC News, Schlitterban spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said: "The Schwab family and all those impacted by the accident will forever be in our thoughts and prayers, and our deepest condolences are with the family."
She continued: "We are thankful to have reached a settlement with all parties. We will be removing the ride from our Kansas City park when given permission by the court, which we have yet to receive."
Since the accident, the ride in question called Verrückt, which in German means "insane" or "crazy", has remained closed, though the water park planned to re-open it.
As per the outlet, the ride featured a three-person raft that plunged 17 stories at 70 mph, then surged back up a hill to drop 50 feet into a pool.
Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in a statement, "All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verruckt."
At the time, the park also released a statement addressing the incident, calling it "devestating."
"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 had ridden Verruckt with our own children and grandchildren over the years it operated. At Schlitterbahn we take safety very seriously. We support effective guidelines that increase guest and staff safety."
The statement continued: "It is our hope that, having fully cooperated with all investigative teams for all affected parties, that if additional measures are identified that could increase safety of future amusement and water park rides, that both industry and government will work together on effective solutions.
The park also emphasized that "safety" was always at the forefront of their work.
"Safety is and always has been our top priority. We continue to review our safety procedures and, as we do every year, enlist an outside third party to confirm that we have and continue to have best in class safety protocols at every one of our parks."
A few years on and the family is still mourning the loss of their little boy.
Rest in peace, Caleb.
