Gov. Sam Brownback says the death of a Kansas lawmaker’s son at the Schlitterbahn water park should prompt a review of the state’s amusement park inspection laws.
“I think they ought to be reviewed, and I would assume and hope that the Legislature would spend significant time looking at the issue," Brownback says. "And we will as an administration after you get past the sheer tragedy of it.”
Parks are now required to inspect their rides at least once a year. Records of those inspections are then subject to random state audits.
The state last audited Schlitterbahn’s inspection records in 2012.
Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab, the son of Rep. Scott Schwab, was killed Sunday on a water slide billed as the world’s tallest. Park officials shut down the ride for the remainder of the season following the accident.
Brownback’s comments came during a Statehouse meeting with reporters before he left to attend an afternoon memorial service for Caleb Schwab in Olathe.
