KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 168-foot-tall Kansas waterslide on which a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son was killed last summer will be demolished once the unfolding investigation of the tragedy is finished, the water park's operators said Tuesday. 
 
 Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement that the "Verruckt" ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, will be permanently removed from its tower "once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court." 
 
 "In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," the statement read, adding that "all of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verruckt." 
 
 The ride — billed as the world's tallest waterslide — has been closed since Caleb Thomas Schwab died Aug. 7 during one of its runs. The boy was decapitated in the accident, a person familiar with the investigation previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak publicly about the boy's death. 
 
 Two other riders in the raft, both women, were injured. 
 
 Attorneys for Caleb — son of Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab — and the women are independently investigating the accident. No charges or lawsuits have been filed as of Tuesday. Messages left by the AP after business hours Tuesday for the attorneys were not immediately returned. 
 
 Verruckt — German for "insane" — featured multi-person rafts that make 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. 
 
 Riders, who were required to be at least 54 inches tall, were harnessed with two nylon seatbelt-like straps — one crossing the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap is held in place by long straps that close with fabric fasteners, not buckles. Riders hold ropes inside the raft. 
 
 Riders are weighed to ensure each raft carries between 400 pounds and 550 pounds. 
 
 States' regulations of waterslides and other amusement rides have faced scrutiny following Caleb's death. Kansas is known for its light regulation of amusement park rides, and the Texas-based company that operates Schlitterbahn lobbied legislators to help ensure that it remained responsible for its own inspections. 
 
 Kansas mandates annual inspections of permanent amusement park rides but allows private inspectors to do the checks, rather than requiring a state inspection. A document released by the state Department of Labor after Caleb's death showed that all of Schlitterbahn's rides passed private inspections in June. 
 
 Lynn Johnson, an attorney for the women injured while accompanying Caleb in a raft, said in August that his clients "want answers and assurances from Schlitterbahn that that slide will be corrected or not continue to be in operation." 
 
 "If necessary, there will be litigation," he said then. 
 
 Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in its statement Tuesday that it has been cooperating with investigators and the victims' families and attorneys, noting that "the safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority." 
 
 "In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather," the statement read, "we've never experienced this kind of devastating event." ||||| 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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 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. 
 
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 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.