Florida Teen Strangled to Death After Shirt Catches on Playground Slide Screw, Family Says

Estefanía Valladares is warning parents about playground dangers after her 13-year-old son was strangled by his own shirt on a loose slide screw.

The Miami mother, whose youngest child Olvin Daniel Cabrera Valladares died Oct. 1, told Local 10 that the boy had skipped school on Sept. 25 and ridden his scooter to Shenandoah Park instead. She said a father who had brought his own children to play discovered the teen in a horrifying state.

“He told me he pulled on him, but he was caught on a screw,” Estefanía recounted. “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 rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. Family members launched a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses as they kept vigil. A week after the incident, on Oct. 1, he was declared brain dead.

“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 day after Olvin was found, the city closed the park for what Local 10 described as a “non-criminal investigation.” The slide reopened to the public just one day later, a move that came before any resolution in the case.

A city spokesperson told The Post that the incident “is under active investigation[.]” Officials have not publicly confirmed Estefanía’s account of how the strangling occurred.

Estefanía said she never imagined she would bury a child. “As a mother, it’s very hard to lose a son. I never thought I would lose my son,” she shared.

The grieving mother has turned her pain into a direct plea to other families. “Be careful taking your children to these parks. Look at the tragedy that happened to my son,” she said.