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Legislation
approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Friday would
require qualified inspectors to check amusement park rides every
year, as opposed to allowing park owners to do the checks.
The bill was created after Caleb Thomas Schwab, 10, died in
August 2016 at the Schlitterbahn waterpark on the Verruckt water
slide that sent riders plunging down 17 stories at up to 50
miles an hour (80 kph).
The bill also includes a provision requiring people who are
injured on rides to report the injury to the park before
leaving. Parks must then report these injuries to authorities.
The bill heads to Republican Governor Sam Brownback's desk for
final approval.
Brownback will carefully review the legislation, his
spokeswoman, Melika Willoughby, said by telephone. The governor
has told local media he would follow the lead of Caleb's father,
Scott Schwab, a Republican representative from Olathe, a Kansas
City suburb. Schwab spoke in support of the bill last month on
the House floor, local media reported.
"This bill’s really not about Caleb. I think we understand
that," the Topeka Capital-Journal quoted him as saying. "It’s
the next kid that goes someplace in Kansas for a fun weekend."
Officials at the Schlitterbahn waterpark closed the slide after
Caleb's death and said the ride would be demolished.
(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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