Courtesy Schwab Family(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — Two women who were in the same raft when 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was tragically killed on a Kansas City waterslide earlier this month are speaking out for the first time.
Schwab, the son of a Kansas state lawmaker, suffered a fatal neck injury on the 168-foot-tall Verruckt ride at the Schlitterbahn waterpark on Aug. 7. The young victim was one of three passengers in the raft. The two other occupants, Hannah Barnes and Matraca Baetz, suffered serious facial injuries.
The two women, who are sisters, released a statement through their attorney Wednesday.
“We are pursuing a thorough investigation of this tragic event to insure that any and all measures are taken to prevent this from ever happening again. Being mothers ourselves, we can only hope that Caleb’s family can find some comfort in knowing we are doing everything we know how to do to stop something so tragic from occurring again to any other family,” the statement read.
The boy’s father, Rep. Scott Schwab of Kansas, also released a statement through his family’s attorney in which he thanked the public for their support.
“‘Thank You’ seems so inadequate to express our appreciation, but it is the only phrase we have. So, from the depths of our hearts, we thank you,” the Republican lawmaker said in the statement. “While we try to step forward into the new normal life without Caleb in our presence, we find hope with the current investigation into the incident to provide answers and assurances that such a tragedy would not strike again.”
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.