A Florida teen was strangled to death by his shirt after it got caught on a loose screw in a playground slide, his grieving mother said.
Mom Estefanía Valladares told Local 10 her son Olvin Daniel Cabrera Valladares, 13, died in the freak accident after he went to play in Shenandoah Park in Miami on Sept. 25.
“He was my baby, my youngest, just 13 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him,” the distraught mother told the outlet.
The mom said that Olvin was supposed to be at school the day of the tragedy, but rode his scooter to the park instead.
Estefanía said her son was discovered by a man who went to the park with his own kids later that day – and found Olvin “caught on a screw.”
“He told me he pulled on him, but he was caught on a screw,” according to Estefanía. “He pulled again, and my son fell out. His arm was inside of his shirt, and his collar was tight around his neck.”
Olvin was later rushed to the hospital and placed on life support, before being declared brain dead a week later on Oct. 1, according to family, who started a GoFundMe for the teen’s funeral expenses.
“As a mother, it’s very hard to lose a son. I never thought I would lose my son,” Estefanía said.
Officials did not confirm the chain of events that Estefanía alleged, but a city spokesperson told The Post that the incident “is under active investigation[.]”
Local 10 reported that the day after Olvin was found dead, the park was closed for a “non-criminal investigation,” but that the slide was opened back up to the public the next day.
As investigators look into the cause of death, Estefanía warned parents to keep an eye out for her children.
“Be careful taking your children to these parks. Look at the tragedy that happened to my son,” Estefanía said.
