It stands at a towering 168 feet tall and opened just two years ago, but Schlitterbahn Kansas City’s Verrückt waterslide is about to come down. 
 
 Drained with visible rust stains, Verrückt has been closed since August 7, 2016 when 10-year-old Caleb Schwab, son of Kansas state representative Scott Schwab, died while riding the slide. According to a police report, Caleb died of a neck injury. 
 
 Two women on the raft with Caleb also suffered facial injuries. 
 
 On Tuesday evening, Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts released the following statement, saying once the investigation is concluded and permission is given by the court, "Verrückt will be decommissioned – closed permanently and the slide removed from the tower. In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy." 
 
 A spokeswoman told 41 Action News the slide “will never run again — not at any park, anywhere.” She also said the park is ready to begin taking down the slide and conveyer belt “the moment we are allowed to by the court.” 
 
 All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verrückt. 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. Once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court, Verrückt will be decommissioned – closed permanently and the slide removed from the tower. In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy. We will, at some point in the future, announce what will be built in its place. We continue to fully cooperate with investigative teams and work with the families, their attorneys and our staff impacted by this accident. As we move forward, we assure everyone who works for us and the community: we remain wholly committed to our Kansas City park and the original vision of Schlitterbahn – providing a great place to work and an environment for families and friends to gather together. 
 
 The announcement comes as the criminal investigation into the tragedy is not yet complete. 
 
 41 Action News reached out to the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department who confirmed criminal charges are unlikely but the case remains open. 
 
 The homicide detective, still holding onto the ride's rafts, netting and metal frames, is about done with the investigation. 
 
 Michael C. Rader, an attorney representing the Schwab family released the following statement on the news that Verruckt will be torn down: 
 
 "On behalf of the Schwabs, I have been working in conjunction with Schlitterbahn and their attorneys in permanently decommissioning the slide and ensuring that it is eventually torn down. The slide cannot be torn down until all investigations and potential litigation has concluded." 
 
 Lawsuit or settlement possibilities 
 
 It is still unknown if the public will ever find out what went wrong the day of the tragedy because the case could be settled before going to court. 
 
 It is still unknown if lawyers representing the Schwab family or the women injured in a raft with Caleb will file a lawsuit or settle. 
 
 However, in Kansas, there is a limit on personal injury and wrongful death cases. In personal injury cases the limit, for non-economical damages, is $300,000. In wrongful death cases the limit is $250,000. 
 
 Schlitterbahn is a Texas-based company so the lawyers involved could move forward with legal proceedings there. 
 
 Independent investigation ongoing 
 
 On September 7, 2016 – days after Schlitterbahn closed for the season - 41 Action News watched as a team of attorneys and experts for the Schwab family and the two female passengers inspected the slide. 
 
 In cases where an individual has died or is badly hurt, independent investigations are often conducted. 
 
 "We always do a lot of investigation on our cases. One like the Schlitterbahn case, that's highly technical and there's lots of engineering stuff involved. You absolutely have to have an expert," said Matt Meyerkord. 
 
 Meyerkord is a personal injury attorney in Kansas City. He's not involved with the Schlitterbahn investigation but talked with 41 Action News in September and explained what investigators might be looking for. 
 
 "It's a fairly thorough investigation. You test every part of it and look at every inch of what you're investigating," said Meyerkord. 
 
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 But by midafternoon, the joy came to a horrible end when the 10-year-old son of a Kansas state representative from Olathe died on the Verrückt, at 17 stories the tallest water slide in the world. 
 
 Caleb Thomas Schwab, a freckled baseball and soccer enthusiast, was the son of Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele. Hours after the fun and laughter, the Schwabs were being comforted at their home with hugs and kisses from friends and colleagues. One of them was state Sen. Greg Smith, who lost his own daughter, Kelsey, to a murderer in 2007. 
 
 Expressions of grief and condolences over Caleb’s death poured in. The Schwabs issued a statement thanking everyone for their compassion. 
 
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 “Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those who he came into contact with,” the statement said. “As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in his Savior, Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day.” 
 
 Schlitterbahn shut down after the accident and will remain closed Monday. The slide will stay closed indefinitely. State law requires a qualified inspector’s approval before resumption of an amusement ride after a serious injury. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn offered no information Sunday afternoon about what happened. 
 
 “We are saddened to share that a young boy died on Verrückt this afternoon,” said Winter Prosapio, corporate director of communications for Schlitterbahn. “Given that safety is our first priority, we have closed our Kansas City park and have closed the ride pending a full investigation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.” 
 
 Prosapio could not say whether the boy fell from the slide or was even aboard a raft when fatally injured. 
 
 “We honestly don’t know what’s happened,” Prosapio said. “That’s why a full investigation is necessary. We have to understand what’s happened. The Fire Department, of course, is here. (An) outside, inside investigation will be underway, and it will be a complete one. …To be honest, this is not something we’ve experienced.” 
 
 Off-duty Kansas City, Kan., police officers working security at the park called in the incident at 2:34 p.m. The police are working with the park on the investigation. Police Chief Terry Zeigler said police are working it as an accident. 
 
 “Our deepest condolences go to the family, very sad situation,” Zeigler said in an email. 
 
 Unified Government Mayor Mark Holland also issued a statement extending his thoughts and prayers to the family. 
 
 Scott Schwab, a Republican, was first elected to the Kansas House in 2003. 
 
 “The primary reason for my desire to serve in the Kansas House is to help create an economic environment for kids like mine to have a future here in Kansas,” Schwab said while running for re-election in 2014. 
 
 Pat Pettey, a state senator whose district covers the park, attended the elected officials day event with her daughter and 17-year-old grandson. Those two rode the Verrückt with a friend at about 10 or 10:30 a.m. 
 
 “They didn’t experience any difficulties. My daughter just said she was at the front,” said Pettey, who rode the Verrückt the year it opened and didn’t have qualms about her loved ones riding it. 
 
 Pettey left before the accident occurred, but her daughter still was there. Her daughter heard an unusual noise and left the park quickly after learning what had happened. She declined to talk about it. 
 
 “She’s pretty upset that this could have happened,” Pettey said. 
 
 Pettey said she was confident that the police and fire departments and Schlitterbahn would do a thorough investigation. 
 
 “I would hope that all safety formality had been followed and that sadly this is an unforeseeable accident,” she said. “Human error occurs. If that is the case, I’m sure it will be determined in the investigation.” 
 
 Pettey noted that the ride has been popular. 
 
 “I’m sure thousands of people have ridden it this summer alone,” Pettey said. “It’s just a terrible, terrible thing that’s happened. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be at any kind of park and have something like that happen.” 
 
 People packed the Schwab home in Olathe on Sunday night. 
 
 Erin Davis, another state representative from Olathe, was among them. 
 
 “It’s just a tragedy, and our hearts are all broken for the family,” she said. 
 
 Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins tweeted, “My thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Scott Schwab and his family at this devastating time.” 
 
 Speaker of the House Ray Merrick of Stilwell on Sunday night asked for prayers and comfort for the family of his House colleague. 
 
 “Representative Schwab is a long-serving legislator whose family is the center of his world,” Merrick said. 
 
 In an interview, Merrick said the death was a tragic accident, a freak accident. His grandson played soccer with Caleb Schwab, he said. 
 
 “He was a real good little athlete,” Merrick said. “An all-around good kid.” 
 
 Clint Sprague, lead pastor of LifeMission Church, has known Caleb’s parents since they were in college. 
 
 “They are an amazing, resilient family, full of faith,” he said. “They are just grieving their loss right now.” 
 
 Funeral arrangements had not been made Sunday. 
 
 Verrückt opened in July 2014. Its German name means “insane.” 
 
 Riders on the Verrückt are supposed to be at least 54 inches tall. Riders sit in a three-person raft and are secured with straps across the waist and shoulders, like a seat belt. The combined weight of riders per raft must be between 400 and 550 pounds. Riders are weighed at the bottom of the tower and again at the top. 
 
 There are 264 steps to the top and call boxes for emergencies. 
 
 The chute drops 168 feet, 7 inches, and the raft hits speeds of 60 to 70 mph. After the initial drop, the raft climbs a five-story hill before continuing to a stop. 
 
 The list of rules for riders includes admonitions to remain seated and to hold onto the raft handles at all times. 
 
 Prosapio said all rides at Schlitterbahn are inspected by employees every day and are inspected by an outside party prior to the start of the season. 
 
 The initial opening of the Verrückt was delayed several times as the development team made adjustments. Mayor Holland attended the grand opening. 
 
 Also at the opening was Jeff Henry, a co-owner of Schlitterbahn and a designer of the Verrückt. 
 
 The ride is covered in netting because the sides of the chute are low so the riders can see out. 
 
 “It’s nice to always know that nobody’s ever going to come out of the ride,” Henry said on opening day. 
 
 Henry told USA Today at the time of the opening that the slide was dangerous, “but it’s a safe dangerous now. Schlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn’t a family ride. It’s for the thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.” ||||| FILE - In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 file photo, Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab speaks at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The young son of a Kansas state lawmaker died on a water slide that is billed... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 file photo, Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab speaks at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The young son of a Kansas state lawmaker died on a water slide that is billed as the world's largest, according to officials and the boy's family. Authorities did not immediately... (Associated Press) 
 
 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas waterslide billed as the world's tallest remained off-limits Monday as authorities pressed to figure out how a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son died of a neck injury while riding it. 
 
 Details remained murky about what happened Sunday to Caleb Thomas Schwab on the 168-foot-tall "Verruckt" — German for "insane" — that since its debut two years ago has been the top draw at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas. 
 
 Kansas City, Kansas, police issued a statement late Monday afternoon saying that Caleb suffered a fatal neck injury around 2:30 p.m. while he was riding the slide with two women, neither of whom was related to him. They suffered minor facial injuries and were treated at an area hospital, police said. 
 
 Emergency responders arrived to find the boy dead in a pool at the end of the ride, according to the statement, which offered no further details. 
 
 In a statement Monday afternoon, Schlitterbahn said it was "deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident." The park was tentatively scheduled to reopen Wednesday, but "Verruckt is closed," according to the statement. 
 
 Officer Cameron Morgan, a police spokesman, said no police report about the incident was available. He said investigators were treating Caleb's death as a "civil matter" rather than a criminal one and referred additional questions to the park. 
 
 Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio declined interview requests Monday but told reporters a day earlier that Caleb had been at the park with family members, adding that "we honestly don't know what's happened." 
 
 It wasn't immediately clear whether results of an autopsy Monday on Caleb would be publicly released or, if so, how soon, said Margaret Studyvin with the Wyandotte County coroner's office. 
 
 Leslie Castaneda, who was at Schlitterbahn on Sunday, told The Kansas City Star that she saw Caleb's crumpled shorts or bathing suit at the bottom of the ride, along with blood on the slide's white descending flume. 
 
 "I'm really having a tough time with it. I really am," said Castaneda, of Kansas City, Kansas. "I saw his (Caleb's) brother. He was screaming." 
 
 On the waterslide certified by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest, riders sit in multi-person rafts during "the ultimate in water slide thrills," subjecting "adventure seekers" to a "jaw dropping" 17-story drop, the park's website says. Passengers then are "blasted back up a second massive hill and then sent down yet another gut wrenching 50 foot drop," the website adds. 
 
 Each rider must be at least 54 inches tall, and the group's weight is limited to a total of 400 to 550 pounds. Authorities didn't release information about Caleb's height or the combined weight of his group of riders. 
 
 According to rules sent to the media in 2014, riders had to be at least 14 years old, but that requirement is no longer listed on the park's website. 
 
 Caleb's parents — Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele — have requested privacy as the family grieves, saying in a statement Sunday that "since the day he was born, (Caleb) brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with." 
 
 "As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day," the statement added. 
 
 The tragedy happened on a day the park offered lawmakers and other elected officials a buffet lunch, hot dogs and hamburgers. 
 
 Verruckt's 2014 opening repeatedly was delayed, though the operators didn't explain why. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were canceled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide. 
 
 In a news article linked to the news release announcing a 2014 delay, Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry told USA Today that he and senior designer John Schooley had based their calculations when designing the slide on roller coasters, but that didn't translate well to a waterslide like Verruckt. 
 
 In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half of the ride and reconfigure some angles at a cost of $1 million, Henry said. 
 
 A promotional video about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half-size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill. 
 
 The Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County said it does not inspect the operations of such rides and is responsible only for ensuring they've adhered to local building codes. 
 
 Without specifically mentioning waterslides, Kansas statutes define an "amusement ride" as any mechanical or electrical conveyance "for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills or excitement." Such rides, by statute, commonly are Ferris wheels, carousels, parachute towers, bungee jumps and roller coasters. 
 
 State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that a permanent amusement ride must be scrutinized by "a qualified inspector" at least every 12 months. Kansas' Labor Department didn't return messages Monday. 
 
 Prosapio said Sunday the park's rides are inspected daily and by an "outside party" before the start of each season. 
 
 Kansas state Sen. Greg Smith, an Overland Park Republican, said that although state law doesn't specifically address waterslides, it's clear they "would fall into that category." He called any potential legislative response to Sunday's tragedy premature, saying the investigation should be given time to play out. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Maria Sudekum, Bill Draper and Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, John Hanna in Topeka and Roxana Hegeman in Wichita contributed to this report.
– The 10-year-old son of a Kansas lawmaker died on the world's tallest water slide this summer, and that ride is now closed for good. Caleb Schwab, the son of state Rep. Scott Schwab, suffered a "fatal neck injury" Aug. 7 on the 168-foot Verruckt slide at the Schlitterbahn Kansas City water park; the slide has been closed as investigators look into Caleb's death, the Kansas City Star reports. Once the probe is done and the park gets the legal go-ahead, the slide will be "decommissioned," with the ride permanently shuttered and the slide taken down from its tower, per a Schlitterbahn statement released Tuesday. "In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," the park says, adding it remains "heartbroken" over Caleb's death. It's not clear whether the Schwab family will sue or settle with the park, or if criminal charges will be filed, though the Kansas City PD tells KSHB charges aren't likely. In Kansas, permanent amusement park rides have to undergo yearly inspections, but they can be done by private firms rather than the state, the AP reports. In Schlitterbahn's case, all of its rides received a thumbs-up in June after they received private inspections. But some people who had ridden the slide, operational since 2014, spoke out after Caleb's death and noted they'd had uneasy experiences on the ride, including shoulder harnesses coming loose and rafts flying into the air when they shouldn't. The park notes in its release that it will eventually announce what attraction will be built in Verruckt's place.