Caleb Schwab, left, was decapitated while riding the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn Kansas City in August 2016. (AP Images)
The Kansas waterslide on which a 10-year-old boy was decapitated two years ago will be demolished later this year, officials announced Thursday.
The Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City had made arrangements for the 17-story Verrückt slide to be pulled down after Labor Day, Fox 4 KC reported. The demolition is expected to be completed in approximately three weeks.
Caleb Schwab died on Aug. 7, 2016 after the raft he was riding went airborne and hit an overhead loop. The ride was shut down immediately. That November, park officials announced that the slide would be torn down after a criminal investigation into Caleb's death was concluded.
Six people have been charged in connection with Caleb's death: Jeffrey Henry, the co-owner of the Texas-based Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts; John Schooley, one of the Verruckt slide's designers; Tyler Miles, the Kansas City park's former operations director; the company that built Verruckt -- which means "insane" in German -- and two maintenance workers. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Earlier this week, The Kansas City Star reported that four other rides at Schlitterbahn Kansas City had remained closed after state auditors found they did not comply with requirements.
The audit found 11 violations of state amusement park regulations, mostly pertaining to record-keeping and safety signs. However, a Labor Department document recently released to The Star showed two of the rides had maintenance issues. The audit also said Schlitterbahn could not show records indicating the company had a certified weld inspector look at a third ride after 5,000 uses, which is required by a manufacturer's maintenance schedule.
Park spokeswoman Winter Prosapio told The Associated Press in an email that "[t]hree of the four rides required additional time to address certain administrative issues raised in the audit findings." She added that a fourth ride would not open this season because a pump needed to be replaced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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