Schlitterbahn waterslide where boy died will be torn down

A waterslide at a Kansas City Schlitterbahn where a boy died over the summer will be torn down, the company announced.

The Verruckt will be closed after the investigation is complete and a court gives them permission.

"In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," spokesperson Pam Renteria said in a statement. "We will, at some point in the future, announce what will be built in its place."

Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, was killed while riding Verruckt. The slide is 168-feet tall and has 264 stairs leading to the top -- taller than the Statue of Liberty. The slide's name means "insane" in German.

Bill Ritter has the story.

ABC News talked with Esteban Castaneda, who witnessed the incident at the water park. He described a horrific scene after the boy's death.

Castaneda said that he heard booms coming from the area of the slide and then saw a body wash down the slide directly after the raft did.

Castaneda said he noticed a lifeguard was trying to push the crowd back from the slide, but he continued to try to help because he thought there was someone lying face down in the water.

The lifeguard told Castaneda that there was nothing he could do to help. It was at that point that he noticed the boy appeared to have been decapitated.