THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE • Early Summer 2018 41 TheCoastalBend.com TheLegalWheelsTurn I n early September one of the lifeguards who was coerced into chang- ing his report of the Groves incident, a 17-year-old minor, went to Kansas City police detectives to report Miles’ cover up of the June incident. Investigators interviewed Groves, the other lifeguards, and the medical staff, who, according to the indictment, each indepen- dently corroborated Miles’ actions. Recognizing the potential bomb- shell of the Groves cover up accusation, at least one Schlitterbahn representative embarked upon an astonishing effort to intimidate the whistleblower and interfere with the law enforcement investigation. The Kansas indictment alleges that Schlitterbahn defense attorney, Derek MacK- ay of Kansas City, Missouri, showed up unannounced at the home of the 17-year-old lifeguard, telling his mother that he wanted to speak with the young man about the Groves incident. She refused, reminding MacKay that her son was a minor, and that he had given his statement to police. MacKay asserted that Det. Sutton would want him to have a copy of the report, but she refused to provide it to him, and instructed him to leave her home. The mom then called Det. Sutton and told him about the encounter, assuring him that she had not given the attorney the report. Det. Sutton then told her that MacKay had just called him, saying that she had given permission for Schlitterbahn to receive a copy. She had not. While they were on the phone, the mother received a call from MacKay, who said that he had spoken to Det. Sutton, and that he wanted her to give him a copy of the report. Of course, Det. Sutton had not. Even before news of the alleged Groves cover up had become public knowledge, Schlitterbahn felt the need to send its at- torney, armed with permission to use whatever means of intimidation and deception deemed necessary, to get ahead of the Groves cover up story. Clearly, they knew all about it, and were panicked at its potential consequences. Beyond the painful, emotional weight of Caleb Schwab’s death, Kansas prosecu- tors have presented evidence that Verrückt was flawed from its inception, and that its core flaw, the tendency for rafts to go airborne after cresting the second hill, was never corrected. To make matters worse, a fatal flaw was added to the core flaw, when the net-and-hoop “safety system” was conceived and installed along the slide’s ride path—all of which was conjured up by a design team that possessed not a single engineering certification or degree between them. Jeff Henry and John Schooley’s multiple, recorded statements regarding the ride’s danger, it’s unsolved core design flaw, and their fear and expectation of injury and death as a result of airborne rafts, verify their recognition of the hazard Ver- rückt presented to riders. Even more damning are the ongoing and extreme efforts made by park manager Tyler Miles, presumably under direct orders from Jeff Henry, to cover up injuries caused by airborne rafts as they happened, before the August 7, 2016, incident, in the investigation into Caleb’s death, and after the incident. All of this, based on the grand jury indictment, makes a strong case that all of the rider injuries on Verrückt, including the decapitation death of Caleb Schwab, were not just foreseeable, but were actually expected. As a result of the investigation, the Wyandotte County, Kansas, grand jury in- dicted Jeff Henry, John Schooley, Henry & Sons Construction, and Schlitterbahn Wa- terpark Kansas City, with 18 felony counts, including one of second-degree murder in the case of Caleb Schwab, five counts of aggravated endangering of a child for the minors who were injured on Verrückt, and 12 counts of aggravated battery for each person injured on the ride. Park manager Tyler Miles was indicted separately on a total of 20 counts, one of involuntary manslaughter in the case of Caleb Schwab, 17 counts in common with the Henry et al indictment, plus two counts related to inter- fering with law enforcement, one for concealing evidence and one for obstructing the official duty of law enforcement. Both indictments were declared “True Bill” by the grand jury on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Tyler Miles turned himself in to authorities on Friday the 23rd when the indictment against him was unsealed. Observers saw that the Miles indictment ToptoBottom: Caleb Schwab’s funeral; Jeff Henry at first court appearance in Kansas City; John Schooley in court after being arrested at DFW Airport; Left: Henry after being released from jail on bond; Right: Kansas State Senator David Haley, who is pushing for increased amuse- ment park regulation.