Wet 'n Wild: When Water Rides Should be Subject to the Highest Duty of Care

Two thrill ride accidents in July 2013—one involving a woman who fell seventy-five feet to her death from a roller coaster, and another involving a log flume that overturned and trapped seven patrons underwater—placed national attention on the safety of amusement park rides. Following the accidents, social media erupted with calls for increased ride safety. At the same time, a Kansas waterpark was completing construction on the world’s “tallest, fastest and ‘most extreme’ water slide ever built”—the Verruckt, which is “German for insane.” A target for “adrenaline junkies who are always looking for the