KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A former executive for a water park company was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 10-year-old boy who was decapitated on a giant water slide at a Kansas water park.
Tyler Austin Miles, 29, a former operations director of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts, pleaded innocent Friday during a brief court appearance.
He is the first person criminally charged in the Aug. 7, 2016 death of Caleb Schwab, the son of Kansas Rep. Scott Schwab, at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kan. He was on a raft with two women on the 17-story "Verruckt" water slide -- billed as the world's tallest water slide -- when the raft went airborne, hitting a pole and netting designed to keep riders from being thrown from the ride.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt that the Schlitterbahn Waterpark corporation was indicted along with Miles. Schmidt said the indictments also involve injuries suffered by 13 other people, including four children, who rode on the slide.
The indictment alleges that officials rushed the design and construction of the Verruckt water slide, and that operators were aware of at least 13 other injuries -- including two concussions -- on the ride, and that the specific raft Caleb was on went abnormally fast and would go airborne more frequently than other rafts.
Miles has also been charged with 12 counts of aggravated battery, five counts of aggravated endangerment of a child and two counts of interfering with law enforcement.
Schlitterbahn, which is based in Texas, said in a statement Friday that it was "deeply disappointed to learn any individual is being personally charged for the terrible accident on Verruckt."
"Our review of the facts and circumstances of the accident has never shown any evidence of criminal conduct on the part of anyone," spokesman Winter Prosapio said.
Miles' attorney, Tricia Bath, said during Friday's hearing that Miles started at Schlitterbahn as a lifeguard and worked his way up to operations manager. She said Schwab's death was a "horrible tragedy."
Verruckt -- German for "insane" -- included multi-person rafts that made a 17-story drop at speeds of up to 70 mph, followed by a surge up a hump and a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool.
The water slide has been closed since Caleb's death. Schlitterbahn has said it will dismantle the ride when the investigation into the boy's death is complete.
Caleb Schwab's family reached settlements of nearly $20 million with Schlitterbahn and various companies associated with the design and construction of the water slide.
A Section on 03/24/2018