Family sues after 8-year-old boy DIES flying out of corkscrew slide and falling seven feet to the ground at his Utah elementary school

The parents of an 8-year-old Utah boy who died after falling from a corkscrew slide on his elementary school playground have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district.

Dallin Cunningham was playing on a corkscrew-style slide on the Rose Springs Elementary School playground on Feb. 6, 2023, when he fell seven feet and suffered fatal blunt force trauma to the head.

His parents, Timothy and Kathryn Cunningham, are suing the Tooele County School District for $90,000 and other undisclosed damages for failing to properly supervise Dallin and allowing unsafe playing conditions, according to the lawsuit obtained by CUTV.

Dallin, the youngest of four children and the only boy in the family, became unconscious after the fall and was taken to hospital where he died.

“He fell to the frozen, rock-hard (term used by police) surface below and suffered serious injuries, including fatal blunt force trauma to his head,” the lawsuit said.

Dallin was on a corkscrew-style slide on the Rose Springs Elementary School playground on Feb. 6, 2023, when he fell seven feet and suffered fatal blunt force trauma to the head. The slide has reportedly since been removed from the playground

His parents, Timothy and Kathryn Cunningham, are suing the Tooele County School District for $90,000, alleging they failed to properly supervise Dallin and allowed unsafe conditions on the playground.

His parents said the fall happened around 10:07 a.m., but school staff didn’t call 911 until 10:17 a.m.

The 8-year-old suffered blunt trauma, right occipital subscapular hematoma, fracture of the right side of the frontal bone, cerebral edema and hemorrhage as a result of his fall.

The lawsuit argued that the school district is liable because the playground did not meet safety standards, including excessive sliding and insufficient mulch.

“The use of a playground surface beneath the playground equipment that consisted of a hazardous condition of a frozen hard surface instead of a material that would have better absorbed the hard impact of Dallin’s fall,” the complaint states.

“The standard is 12 inches of fill, which is expected to compress to a minimum of 9 inches of fill. As measured at the playground, due to poor design and maintenance, the playground mulch was approximately 1 inch deep before it was frozen solid underneath.”

Tooele County School District told KSL: ‘Due to the open and active litigation, we are unable to comment at this time.’

The slide has reportedly been removed from the playground.

Dallin’s obituary described him as a friendly and outgoing boy who always made new friends.

‘Dallin is the perfect, imperfect eight-year-old boy. Sometimes teasing, sometimes hostile, but always in love with his three sisters, his mom and dad,” the obituary said.

‘He loves board games and card games like Sushi Go!, Throw Throw Burrito, Uno and many more. But he’s always more excited to play when one of his sisters comes to play with him.’

The 8-year-old was described as athletic, loved football, very flexible and creative.

“When he didn’t have access to video games, he would pull out a complex puzzle to work on or draw funny pictures,” the obituary said.

Family friend Katrina Orr of Cunningham told KSL that Dallin was very smart and had a lot of energy

The lawsuit argued that the school district is liable because the playground failed to meet safety standards, including excessive sliding and insufficient mulch

Dallin’s obituary described him as a friendly and outgoing boy who always made new friends

‘He loves reading and has just finished all the How to Train a Dragon books. He loves learning Portuguese and practicing it at home with his dad.”

Family friend Katrina Orr of Cunningham told KSL that Dallin was very smart and had a lot of energy.

‘He was a very intelligent child. He was putting together a 3D Harry Potter puzzle designed for 12-year-olds and he figured it out,” Orr said.

“He would love to come over and cuddle you, grab your face and make a lame joke.”

This was said by the church bishop of Cunningham FOX 13‘It was a heartbreaking experience and we will never be the same. He was a smart, vibrant boy with the best smile and laugh.”