'He just wanted to play': Miami boy, 13, is strangled to death by loose screw inside a park slide

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026 · last updated 7 October 2026.

Olvin Daniel Cabrera Valladares skipped school on the morning of September 25 and rode his scooter to Shenandoah Park, where the collar of his T-shirt snagged on a screw inside a large enclosed tube slide and choked him. He lay undiscovered for hours until a father visiting the park with his children found him suspended inside the slide. Olvin was declared brain dead on October 1, and his family has launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs.

His mother Estefanía Valladares said: 'His arm was inside of his shirt, and his collar was tight around his neck.'

Miami shut Shenandoah Park the following day for a 'non-criminal investigation' — but allowed the slide to reopen to the public the very next day.