b'nary. When the existence of the Ops Dailies was discovered some six months afterOn July 5, 2015, a 15-year-old girl was left with neck injuries and temporarily Calebs death, they revealed dozens of issues concerning Verrckt, from minor to se- blind after her raft when airborne, and her head slammed into her headrest when rious injuries, to maintenance problems and alerts from staff, to equipment failuresthe raft landed back onto the slide. That night, the girl was in excruciating head and including failed restraints and, yes, airborne rafts ascending the rides second peak. neck pain, was vomiting and could not eat, and was diagnosed with a concussion at Miles was forced to admit that he rounded up all the Ops Daily Reports in No- the emergency room. Her father returned to Schlitterbahn two days later, and an in-vember 2016 and drove them from Kansas City to Schlitterbahns corporate head- cident report was personally completed by Milesa fact specified in the indictment quarters in New Braunfels, as a matter of company policy, which seems to indicateas evidence that he lied to police when he denied the existence of written incident that he was ordered to do so by Jeff Henry. reports, justifying the felony charge of Interference of Law Enforcement, Conceal-The records revealed eleven serious rider injuries on Verrckt prior to Calebsing Evidence.death on August 7, 2016one in 2014, five in 2015, and five that season includingThe most egregious example of Schlitterbahn Kansas Citys standing policy to two the week of the accident. A number of injuries were caused by the combinedcover-up injurious incidents on Verrckt was the June 16, 2016, case of 46-year-old factors of a failed brake system at the end of the ride, as rafts empty into the run-offNorris J.J. Groves, who rode the slide with his wife and son. The Groves raft went pool, and the flimsy nature of the rafts themselves compared to the speed and physi- airborne after cresting the second hill, and J.J.s face and forehead collided with the cal intensity of Verrckt. Riders suffered broken toes, head and neck injuries, andoverhead netting and hoop support, causing abrasions and his eye being swollen slipped spinal disks as a result of the braking problems, which became so serious theshut for the rest of the day. Lifeguards commented that they noticed the raft travel-day before Calebs death that a maintenance supervisor warned that Verrckt shoulding at too high a speed, and Groves told them and a park supervisor that the raft had be closed until it was fixed. Miles ignored the warning and the ride opened as usual. gone airborne, which was included in the Groves signed incident report.The exact failures that led to Calebs deathseating restraints coming undoneAccording to the Kansas indictment, and based on the testimony of a 17-year-and rafts going airborneoccurred in other incidents, including on June 16, 2015,old lifeguard who went to Kansas City Police following Calebs death, Tyler Miles when 20-year-old Brittany Hawkins, who had previously worked at the park as aintercepted the incident reports the lifeguards had written, destroyed written wit-lifeguard, and knew Tyler Miles, suffered head, neck and back injuries. Hawkinsness statements, and then forced lifeguards to write new, coached statements that restraint came undone during the first drop, causing her to be thrown violently side- omitted the cause of Mr. Groves injuries. In an effort to fully wash the true cause of ways in her seat, followed by the raft going airborne as it went over the crest ofthe Groves incidentthe Verrckt raft going airborne on the second hill in the exact the second hill, bringing her face to within inches of the netting and a metal hoop.manner that caused Caleb Schwabs deathMiles went so far as to order profession-When the raft bounced back onto the slide path, the impact caused her head to slamally trained medical staff to alter the reports of their observations and treatment of into the head rest and, not to miss the full Verrckt near-death bonus experience,J.J. Groves injuries. This was just less than two months prior to Calebs death, which Hawkins raft slammed into the back of the runoff pool. She was left disoriented,makes a strong case that Tyler Miles was acting in accordance with a standing com-in pain, unable to walk, and had to be carried off the ride to the first aid station bypany policyone that could only come from Jeff Henryto take whatever extreme Miles and Hawkins husband. measures were required to destroy any record of injuries on Verrckt caused by rafts According to the indictment, Hawkins told Miles repeatedly that the raft wentgoing airborne.airborne, and wrote it into her incident report. After signing the report, and whileMan, are they hitting that net up there? That boat flew. That boat looked like it still being treated, Miles left the first aid station with the report, which has neverflew. Jeff Henry to John Schooley, observing Verrckt from an elevated been located and cannot be found in any of the parks records. This was more than aplatform on the day the ride opened, July 10, 2014.year before the death of Caleb Schwab.Footage from the Xtreme Waterparks series on Travel Channel, some of which made it to broad-cast, showed Verrckt rafts going airborne on the second hill, and flying completely off the ride.86 THE C AL BEND MAGAGAZINEZINEFEAEarlTy Summer 2018URED: The Stories that Mattered TheC talBend.c40 THE COOASASTTAL BEND MA TheCooasastalBend.comom'