Utah Family Sues School District Over 8-Year-Old Boy's Playground Slide Death 

the pain in the father's eyes... rip dallin

No parent should have to bury their child.

Damn, that photo of the dad holding his baby boy in his arms for the last time broke my heart. I've got tears in my eyes.

When I was in elementary school, we were not allowed on the playground during the winter. Until everything was melted. That includes the ground. I'm so sorry for the family's loss.

This is horrible, he just wanted to go down a slide and didn’t know what was going to happen. The family must be devastated. I’m sorry for their loss, R.I.P. Dallin

Seeing the dad's face while lying next to him is heartbreaking. Prayers for this family 🙏

So I know no one asked for this. But I knew Dallin He was a kind little boy, who loved to be with his family. He has three older sisters, his youngest sister (still older than him) her name was Margaret. I met her in third grade. We would play all the time. Especially with Dallin and Margaret. In fourth grade Margaret moved to Utah. Then in 2023, February 8th, we figured out that Dallin has died. We were so sad. RIP Dallin, you will be missed forever. You were a great little boy

The look on dad’s face reminds me of when I was a medic and we were called to a 3 year old that the dad accidentally ran over. He was cradling his son as we got there and his son went into cardiac arrest as I was intubating him. Never got him back. The tire ran over his head and it took 2 nurses to walk the dad in to see his dead son! I will never forget this day!

The pain in the fathers eyes is just traumatic..

What a horribly sad tragedy. Rest in peace, Dallin. Gone too soon.

I feel terrible for the family. At the same time, I’m sick of these families suing schools for absolute accidents

This honestly could have been anyone’s child who accidentally leaned over too far. Rest In internal Peace sweet boy

I feel much empathy for the parents. This seems more like a freak accident than anything. I was a boy in the early 1970s. They didn't have mulch under the slides, it was dirt. The monkey bars had concrete. We played like boys play. Once in a while you got scrapes, bruises, and the wind knocked out. There's no way to put pads on everything in a playground. My condolences.

I don't blame anyone for his death. It was pure accident. There's absolutely no way that every school will have their ground tested, especially during snow. I'm assuming that he ran and dove head first because that's the only way to fall off the rail for someone like his size. I've done that many times when I was a kid too. It was pure accident.

Sad as all hell But sueing the school because of the way people reported he went down doesn't make sense

Here in my city in Canada we close the playgrounds during the winter, spring comes and we test the structure and open it back up.

We made it through metal slides, especally hot summer days. This is definitely a freak accident.

I feel for the parents, an incredible tragedy but I don't think they should sue, this was just a tragic accident.

I am sorry for this family’s loss, but this was an ACCIDENT. Suing the school district is going to hold the community taxpayers accountable for the cost of the lawsuit. That is NOT going to bring their son back and it’s going to deprive other students because of what it will cost the school district to fight the lawsuit.

As tragic is this is it's an accident and accidents happen. It's not the school district's fault, there could have had 12 in of mulch there and if it had been wet or rained anytime prior to that and it froze that mulch would have been hard as concrete. In the United States we cannot keep suing everybody for our accidents, sometimes bad things happen And it's not anyone in particular's fault It's just an accident. In this situation I think it was an accident and that's all it was, a kid fell off of a slide accidentally.

Tragic. I know rubberized material is often used but with the freezing temperatures don't know if it would have helped. Such a horrible thing for that family

This is so sad. He was just a little boy having fun on the playground. 😢

A terrible tragedy. Unfortunately, also a ridiculous lawsuit

Something is being omitted. The kid either went down the slide when it was iced over, went down head first foolishly, or the kid had some sort of preexisting condition that made a fall that wouldn't normally kill a kid kill him. Plenty of kids have fallen from the top of a jungle gym, and have been fine, which is why it's absurd to suggest liability for a kid who does from falling a few feet.

I’m guessing because it was snowing outside, the slide was slippery and that he slid down the slide way too fast. Ice was probably on the slide. They did say the ground was “snowy,” and “rock hard” for a reason.

Im still recovering from using the metal slide during a hot summer day

what a tragic accident. my heart breaks for his family, sounds like he was full of joy in his last moments having fun with his friends.

The picture of the father holding his baby boy 😢💔 my heart aches for this family. May they find comfort and may sweet Dallin rest in peace 💙

This is just horrible :( When I was in elementary school, if it was too cold/snowy outside we could not go onto the equipment to prevent injury.. Sad knowing other schools don't follow this and this poor boy lost his life.

The pain in the dads eyes this is horrible. Poor little guy gone too soon RIP little dude

Sounds like someone pushed him off the side. I work at a school and we have slides just like this. I have never once seen a kid fall off the side while going down it. There's more to this story it seems

There is no way that a lawsuit is fair. There is always some danger involved in a playground. I have been hurt many times. This death is just a tragedy and the school cannot be blamed for it.

You can't blame the school district for this tragedy.

Why did he fly off the slide at such a velocity? Did another child potentially push him as he took off? In winter the ground is gonna be hard and frozen. Perhaps we need to set even higher standards of safety for kids’ playground equipment in light of basic facts like that. So sorry for his parents, teachers, and friends. How traumatizing to witness a child’s senseless death that way.

It’s incredibly sad situation but why is the school responsible. Mulch freezes in the winter doesn’t matter how thick it is. This is a lawyer making money off of a grieving family and making them relive this tragic day over and over again

I could see the pain and heart broke in the fathers eyes poor boy may he rest in peace.

While this is so, so tragic, so heartbreaking, sometimes accidents just happen. My opinion is that the biggest factor in this is that the ground was frozen hard, and nobody took that into consideration. The mulch had probably been compacted by snow/ice and was also probably still wet or damp. When fully dry, it probably would have had more cushion capability. I have no doubt that the groundskeepers would have raked it over and topped it off as warmer weather came around. My heartfelt condolences to this family but I really just think it was a horrible freak accident.

Poor little boy, my heart goes out to the family.

Everyone's first thought "Let's sue" What a terrible accident that I cannot imagine having to live through. Unfortunately this was just a terrible accident. Cue kids not being able to play outside in the winter while in school and remove all playground equipment while were at it. This is a terrible tragedy but just an accident.

My heart goes out to the parents. I’m so sad for you. 😢

This is honestly one of those times where neither side is right. Just a freak accident.

When I was in 1st or 2nd grade it was winter in Japan (very icy) I was next in line to go down the slide, waiting for the kid in front of me to get off the bottom before going. The kid behind me was impatient and decided to shove me down the slide, I ended up face first into a patch of ice at the bottom and had a bruised face and bloody nose. No kids should have recess in those conditions. Teachers should take time to set up fun activities indoors where it is safe and warm for kids to play and get some energy out. Absolutely heartbreaking for that family. 💔

His older sister's in a couple of my classes, she wrote an essay about him and it happened last year, RIP Dallin 🕊

Oh the poor father. My heart when out to him when he was in the photo crying. I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine.

This is so heartbreaking. A poor sweet child dying from such a simple accident. This just comes to show that families must stick together and appreciate each other like how this family loved their little boy, because it could only moments before someone close to you is gone.

Our schools aren't allowed corkscrews. Also we have to close our playground once the temperature drops below a certain temperature and can't open it until Health & Safety comes around to make sure the ground is thawed enough. I always thought it was ridiculous, as a kid that grew up with tire swings and whatnot, but I guess it is to avoid getting sued when an accident happens.

I feel like the issue was that they were allowing kids to go on the slides in the winter weather When I was a kid my school would shut down all play structures during the winter for that reason and so I feel that’s where the fault should be at

I don’t know how many times I fell or slipped while in the park as a kid but It just shows that life is to damm fragile and unfair.

Why these kids allowed to play outside in those conditions? Hard ground!!!!

Crazy a kid could pass away from falling off that little slide I played on way more dangerous slides on the play ground as a kid in back in the late 80z an early 90z

Simply heartbreaking. Blessings to the family.

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your precious baby boy. Heartbreaking. Sweet babies, so innocent.

this is a freak accident. but to sue the school district over this? come on.... i'm sorry, but how is suing for money and depriving kids of playing outside going to solve anything. it is wintertime.

I remember the episode of Rescue 911 when a kid had the string of his coat got caught and choked him. I had never heard of anything like that until now. RIP Dallin

This is so incredibly sad and heartbreaking!! Much love and blessings to this family!

It's sad the kid died. It's even sadder that EVERYTHING in this country is a lawsuit nowadays.

😢 As a mom , I have no words .

That's so heartbreaking 😢

Rest in peace, Dallin. I'm so sorry for the family's loss. ❤

My kids school district doesn't let the kids go outside and play if its that cold out or if there's snow on the ground. Kind of surprised that the school let the kids play outside with it being that cold outside. Sad either way. Hope they inspected the slide though. Because if slides aren't up to date then that could say something or if the school had cameras for outside then maybe someone could figure out how he exactly died from falling from the slide.

Mulch isn’t going to lessen the damage if the ground is frozen

Some people fail to realize that tragedies happen. No safety precautions can save any life if you make the wrong action. Life is never promised. When God calls you its your time to go. Rest in peace to this child.

This just hurts my heart, I feel so bad for this family, I was best friends with his sister, she was in my third grade class, we also played with Dallin

Horrid! Im so sorry for your guys' loss. Prayers lifted. I cant handle the look on that dads face. It rips my soul apart.

My heart goes out to this family. Rest easy little one

I’m so sorry for this poor family’s loss. I hope other schools and towns learn from this story and make changes to their playgrounds. I’m glad this angel didn’t suffer

This is so heart breaking. Thoughts and prayers with his family ❤️ I can't even imagine. Rest in peace sweet boy

This is so heartbreaking for both the school and especially the parents. I’ve worked the playgrounds of elementary schools supervising students. Kids playing tag around the equipment. Many students run on the equipment basically throwing themselves down the slide making them go really fast in order to avoid being tagged.

This is so sad. This poor little guy. I pray for this family's healing & strength.

I have no words this is extremely heartbreaking for parents to lose a child. My heart is broken for his family and friends.

RIP Dallin Cunningham 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

I watched my Mom grieve my brother when I was young- it ended up taking her life. My heart goes out to this family.

Seeing the dad made me start crying

This reminded me of a similar incident back at my Elementary school. I recall they had to close off the playground due to a fact that one of the students died at the playground when trying to climb the slide. I still have that memory to this day.

This story is gut wrenching. The excruciating pain and loss is evident on the dad’s face. God Bless this family. Dallin is flying high with the Angels. May he rest in eternal peace. 😢

I'm so sorry for your loss... he seemed so sweet 🤍🥺

This was a really horrible accident, but people need to stop suing people all the time. This was an accident, no one's fault and nothing anyone could have prevented.

😢How terribly sad. Prayers for his parents and friends🙏 Deepest sympathies ❤

This breaks my heart. Prayers for his family. ❤

That’s just heartbreaking, I’m so sorry they lost their sweet son.

I'm sorry for the family :(

Those poor classmates, too. God bless.

People really sue over anything these days, this is ridiculous. This is a very sad and freak accident. For the parents to try to benefit or get “justice” over a freak accident where no one is in the wrong is just wild.

My heart goes out to the family. I couldn’t imagine. Praying for them!

This is heartbreaking news. In my area of CA, parks and schools have foam matting covering the ground in all playground areas, and injuries from falls have been avoided or reduced in most instances.

This was such a devastating and unfortunate incident. I cannot imagine the heartbreak the parent's of the young boy is going through right now, losing their child. I hope that other schools can take this incident into account and develop more safety precautions for playgrounds.

I'm sorry for the family's loss. May the little boy R.I.P 😇🙏🙌❤️. Sending his family hugs 🤗 and prayers 🙏🙌❤️.

I played outside almost ever recess period in elementary school during the winter in Canada. The ground around the playground equipment was filled with gravel, which froze as hard as concrete during the winter. When the playground equipment was icy or slippery, it only made it more fun for us kids. None of us got badly hurt, even with minimal supervision. I feel like this was really a freak accident and I would suspect that this child might have had an undiscovered medical condition that would have made him more susceptible to a fall from such a low height, even on to a hard surface like partially frozen mulch.

I am so sorry this happened. Breaks my heart. RIP little boy. May the family find peace someway.

so sorry for youre loss he seemed like a happy kid

Watching that other little boy demonstrate how this other slide was up to code and safe was heartbreaking. That should have been this little angel. Happy, safe and without a any worry in the world 🥺

Sad, 😢 the kid seems like a very nice kid. My condolences and prayers to the family. RIP young one.

RIP LITTLE ONE rest in peace

i dont want to be a downer and i know people will be against me but i dont think this is the schools fault. to note it was a icey day and thats not notacable to the naked eye it seems a tad damper but thats all, we also have conflicting statements. these may come from the school trying to hush the incedent but i dont think they where. i just hope no one watching the incident gets arested as they almsot immeditly called the authoritys and seemed to do the best they could. its also clear that the slide has been used a lot and ive been on some playgrounds in my day but the slides always have that divit. thats something that is hard to fill with everyone being safe on there way down. i lean with the kid being somewhat reckless and going down head first as i doubt the kid went over a bar. its also described him falling to the ground and not catching himself witch seems unlikely to happen on a 5 foot drop sitting down. all the best to everyone involved

Yes this is hard to believe u don't die from hitting the ground from a few feet

Ive fell off a slide in KindaGarten just like that blue one and now seeing this just haunts me of how lucky i am but this is just so sad..

No parents should ever have to go through this I’m so sorry for there loss

You can't protect children 100%. They need to be in all kinds of environments, in order for them to learn and grow.

This just broke my heart, condolences to the family for the loss of their beautiful boy 🕊️❤️‍🩹

Its amazing how many times my generation got hurt on the playground and looking forward at playgrounds today its like not much has even changed. The pain in the dad's eyes, that boy was his everything.