A civil engineer and a waterpark manager are facing manslaughter charges after an eight-year-old boy died after falling nearly 50 feet down a dismantled waterslide.
New reports reveal that the fencing cordoning off the under-repair slide was removed on the manager’s orders.
The case occurred in February last year (2022), when little Davi Lucas de Miranda entered the slide at the diRoma Acqua Park in Caldas Novas, Brazil.
Not realising it had been partially dismantled for maintenance, he plunged 13.8 metres before hitting the ride’s wood-and-metal structure.
He then rolled into a 70-centimetre- (28-inch-) deep pool.
He was rescued alive but died later in hospital.
The ride was originally cordoned off with fencing at the base of the stairs leading up to the platform.
But investigations revealed it was removed on the manager’s instructions, after more fencing was installed around the area surrounding the ride.
Had the original fencing not been removed, little Davi would not have accessed the ride, the Civil Police investigation into the case concluded.
Only one of the four of the ride’s tubes was closed off, investigators say, and the victim went down one of the open tubes, which was missing part of its siding.
Civil Police have named the civil engineer responsible for the repair work as Flavio Tomaz de Aquino Musse and the waterpark manager as Cristiano Vilela Reis.
The victim’s relatives did not report them to the police, as they are currently in negotiations with the waterpark management.
The investigation report stated: “It is possible to see the reckless behaviour on the part of the manager, since the investigation pointed out that he ordered the fence to be installed at the Volcano ride, more precisely at the base of the stairs that led to the platform where the water slides began, which was built as ordered.
“However, later, with the fencing being installed in an external area, the manager determined that the barrier on the stairs should be removed.
“If he had not acted in this way, David Lucas de Miranda would certainly not have been able to climb up to the water slide from where he fell.”
Police chief Rodrigo Pereira added that the two accused breached their duty of care by failing to assign employees to guard the site during opening hours.
The maintenance company and Reis had not commented at the time of reporting.
