12-Year-Old Who Rode Same Water Slide Three Days Before Boy Was Killed Was Nervous He'd Fall Out

'That could've been me,' " Noah Boganowski told his mom after learning of Caleb's death

Photo: Liz Boganowski

A 12-year-old boy who took his turn on the water slide just three days before 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was killed on it says that during the ride only one thing was holding him in: a hook-and-loop fastener (similar to VELCRO®).

“I was kind of shocked,” Noah Boganowski tells PEOPLE. “I thought there would be belts holding us in. It was across your chest and across your legs. You would just stick it to the other piece.”

While riding Verrück water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas – the tallest water park in the world – he remembers going down a steep decline and “feeling like it could have come loose.”

At least two other people have reported their fabric straps did come loose or snap within the past year, according to the Associated Press.

His mother, Liz, who wasn’t at the park with him, says that her son strapped himself in on his own. A ride operator came by, looked at his restraint and although he was asked if it was on tight, no one double checked.

While park employees made sure the four people in total on each raft weighed between 400 and 550 pounds, Noah says that no one asked him his height or age.

“They didn’t ask you anything like that,” he says.

The Schlitterbahn Waterpark declined to comment on the restraint issue but released a statement saying the slide would remain closed for the rest of the season and “a limited portion” of the park will open at noon on Wednesday.

Kansas City Police Officer Amber Taylor tells PEOPLE that she doesn’t know when the public should expect to know about the condition of the harnesses on the ride.

“It will be part of the investigation, so [I’m] not sure if, or when that will be released,” she says.

The lawyer for the Schwab family hasn’t responded for comment.

Dr. Kenneth Solomon at the Institute of Risk & Safety Analysis tells PEOPLE it would be very concerning if the ride in fact only using a hook-and-loop as a constraint.

“That’s a definite no-no,” he says. “It’s not good for force that pulls outward. It also doesn’t secure well and most importantly if there is any kind of debris in the material it would affect the ability to adhere.”

Plus, he said, all rides similar to this one should not only be required to ask your height but also have a measuring device mounted on the wall.

“If he’s too small it’s clearly a problem because you can gain a lot of velocity in that kind of drop,” he says.

According to the Kansas City Star, there is no federal and very little state oversight of the park. Owners are responsible for the inspection, though the state has the right to inspect amusement park rides at random. That had not been done at this park, according to an open records request from The Topeka Capital-Journal.

The newspaper reports that Schlitterbahn officials say they inspect the ride every day and that the water slide gets checked by a certified inspector at least once a year.

It was only after Liz heard on Sunday that Caleb was killed on Sunday riding the same water slide that she asked him about his experience on the ride.

“You’re going 65 miles per hour. How can that possibly hold you in?” says Liz.

On Tuesday, Brian Mercer, a regional director for the Missouri Parent Teacher Association, shared on Twitter that he had a very similar experience.

Liz, 52, from Omaha, Nebraska, says that she was nervous about him going to the park with his friend and his father because “anytime you’re around water, anything can happen.”

“The first thing he said to me was ‘That could have been me, Mom.’ He said he will never go on that kind of ride again,” she says. “It scares the crap out of you. It really could have been him. That little boy died and Noah is a small 12-year-old so they could have been pretty similar in size, if that had anything to do with it.”

She adds: “As a parent when you hear it’s velcro and the history of the ride and how there were safety concerns, it’s scary.”

With additional reporting from Hilary Shenfeld.