Memorial Service Held for 10-Year-Old Boy Who Died on Kansas Waterslide
The victim, Caleb Schwab, is the son of state Rep. Scott Schwab.
— -- A memorial service was held this afternoon for the 10-year-old boy who died on a water slide in Kansas.
The victim, Caleb Schwab, suffered a fatal neck injury on the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City on Sunday, officials said.
Caleb's father is state Rep. Scott Schwab.
"Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with," Schwab said Sunday.
Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick sent an email on Sunday to other members of the state Legislature, asking them to pray for the family.
"It is with an absolutely broken heart we have to ask for prayers for the Schwab family, who suddenly and tragically lost their sweet and energetic son in an accident today," he wrote. "No words can express the pain we all feel for this terrible tragedy."
The memorial service was at the LifeMission Church in Olathe, Kansas.
Family pastor Clint Sprague earlier this week called Caleb "an incredible young man" who was "full of life."
He was "affectionate" and a "hugger," Sprague said, and he loved baseball, basketball and his church.
"Caleb was a 10-year-old child, but in many ways, he was a man of God," Sprague said.
The park has reopened. However, the Verruckt ride will remain closed for the season, the water park said. The Kansas City Police Department is investigating the accident.
The water park said in a statement Tuesday, "We continue to pray and keep in our thoughts everyone impacted by the tragic events on Sunday, and we are keeping the Schwab family in our prayers."