“It was very much like a nightmare that didn’t seem like it could be real,” the 8-year-old’s mother says.
An 8-year-old boy who died after falling off a corkscrew slide at his Utah elementary school’s playground might still be alive if the ground below the slide had been properly prepared to cushion the blows of children who landed on it, according to the child's parents who are suing the school district.
Dallin Cunningham was enjoying recess when tragedy stuck. After the little boy fell off the slide, a school employee told a 911 operator she "saw him fly off the structure about halfway down."
Police rushed to the school in Stansbury Park, an officer, in a police report, described the ground as "frozen" and "rock hard."
Dallin was rushed to a hospital, but never regained consciousness.
“It was very much like a nightmare that didn’t seem like it could be real,” Dallin's mother, Kathryn Cunningham, tells Inside Edition. “He fell off as he was going down the slide, high velocity, and when he hit the ground, it was just a frozen solid surface and he experienced massive trauma,” Kathryn says.
“He was just a great little boy, and his life was unfortunately cut short,” Dallin's father, Timothy, says.
According to the police report, witness statements differed. One statement says the boy went down the slide on his rear. But another says he “dove headfirst” and his speed “took him up and over.”
Kathryn and Timothy Cunningham are suing the school district, claiming it failed to “maintain the mulch below the slide” to cushion the boy’s fall.
The Cunninghams' attorney, Peter Mifflin, says the surface Dallin landed on was equivalent to hitting a solid surface.
“You are supposed to have a foot of fill if you are using mulch. Our measures indicate it was only one inch,” Mifflin tells Inside Edition.
Playground safety expert Hal Goura says there are multiple things to look out for before letting a child ride a slide.
Goura says a spiral slide should have a side wall that is over four inches to contain a child riding it. There should also be a guardrail at the top of the slide.
"Due to the open and active litigation, we are unable to provide a comment at this time. We appreciate your understanding," a spokesperson for Tooele County School District said in a statement.
The slide has been removed from the playground.
