The man who designed a Schlitterbahn water slide is now behind bars, charged with murder in the death of a 10-year-old boy who was killed on the ride.
John Schooley, 72, is the second person charged in relation to the death of Caleb Schwab in 2016, KXAS reported.
Schwab was killed on the Verruckt slide at Schlitterbahn, a water park in Kansas City, when his raft went airborne and he hit part of the slide, KXAS reported.
Schooley was arrested at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Monday night as he arrived from China.
He was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated endangering of a child, KCTV reported.
A grand jury said in March that he was not qualified to design a ride of this size, according to KCTV. The Verruckt slide was 17 stories tall, KXAS reported.
Jurors also said that Schooley rushed to meet deadline on the ride.
The park’s co-owner, Jeffrey Henry, 62, faces the same charges as Schooley.
Henry is also credited with designing the ride, but has no formal education in either engineering or physics, The Express News reported. Lawyers for the prosecution said that he came up with the ride to be featured on Travel Channel's Xtreme Waterparks series and "violated nearly all aspects of long-standing industry safety standards," The Express News reported.
The waterpark and the park's former operations director, Tyler Austin Miles, have also been indicted, facing involuntary manslaughter among other charges in relation to Schwab's death, KCTV reported.
Meanwhile, Schlitterbahn is scheduled to open for the season on May 25, KCUR reported. Kansas Department of Labor is scheduled to audit the park and make sure required inspections happen each day the park is open, KCUR reported.
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