US: Teen Boy Dies After Shirt Catches on Screw Inside Miami Playground Slide
A 13-year-old boy, Olvin Daniel Cabrera Valladares, died after his shirt caught on a loose screw inside a slide at Shenandoah Park in Miami, strangling him, his mother told reporters. A visitor found the boy on September 25 before he was rushed to hospital, where he was declared brain dead on October 1. The City of Miami has launched an investigation into the incident.
A grieving mother said her 13-year-old son died after his shirt was caught on a loose screw on a playground slide, strangling him. Olvin Daniel Cabrera Valladares went to Shenandoah Park in Miami’s Coral Way neighborhood on September 25 to play.
The boy was found inside the slide by a man who was visiting the park with his own children, Olvin’s mother Estefanía Valladares told Local 10. “He told me he pulled on him, but he was caught on a screw,” Valladares said. “He pulled again, and my son fell out. His arm was inside of his shirt, and his collar was tight around his neck.” Michigan Parents Charged With Murder After 7-Year-Old Son Weighing 116 kg Dies (Watch Video).
Boy Dies After Shirt Catches on Screw Inside Miami Playground Slide
“He was my baby, my youngest, just 13 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. He just wanted to play and, sadly, it was playing that took his life," Valladares said, according to Independent. The mom said her son was a student at Miami’s Citrus Grove K-8 Center and should have been at school when the tragic accident happened.
“I have a message for parents,” Valladares told the outlet. “Be careful taking your children to these parks. Look at the tragedy that happened to my son.” Olvin’s sister Stephany said medics tried to treat her brother at the scene, before rushing him to hospital. “At the hospital, the doctors and medical team did everything possible to bring Olvin back,” she wrote in a GoFundMe appeal. “Our family held onto hope and prayed for a miracle. Sadly, on October 1, Olvin was declared brain dead.”
In one of the images of Olvin shared on the campaign page, the boy is seen lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by medical machines. Others showed the boy posing with his family in front of a Christmas tree, wearing festive pyjamas. As of October 6, the GoFundMe campaign has raised more than USD 10,000 for Olvin’s funeral arrangements.
Park Closure and Ongoing City Investigation
On the day Olvin was discovered, Miami District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona said on social media Shenandoah Park had been closed for a “non-criminal investigation.”
When a Local 10 crew visited the park, they said they found visible screws were flat. The park reopened a day after it was shut and it was unclear if repairs to the slide had been made.
“The matter is under investigation, and the city cannot comment further,” a city spokesperson told the outlet. Footage captured by NBC 6 South Florida showed investigators examining the playground, looking both inside and outside the slide.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2026 07:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).