Student's Death Has Schools Taking Playground Precautions

By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Local schools are taking precautions after a girl was killed while playing on a piece of playground equipment at a school in far northeastern Oklahoma.

Nine-year-old Alyssa Avila died Thursday, August 19, in Wyandotte. Witnesses said she fell off a toy called the X-Wave then hit her head on the equipment as she tried to get up.

The school has now blocked the X-Wave from student use. Coronado Elementary School in Putnam City has also decided students can no longer play on the toy.

"I knew we had to shut it down as soon as possible," said Principal Bart Daniel.

Principal Daniel said he'd wondered before about the X-Wave's safety, and he doesn't want to take any risks with his students.

"It certainly could do some damage if you stood up or got caught underneath it," he said.

The X-Wave has been at Grove Valley Elementary School in the Deer Creek Public School District for a year. It's a different version from the one used in Wyandotte, but Principal Debbie Straughn has already informed parents and students the piece of playground equipment will be removed. She said she can't imagine losing a student, and she doesn't want to take the chance that someone might get hurt.

Two Edmond elementary schools also removed the X-Wave from their playgrounds. Officials at an Oklahoma City elementary school are reviewing the equipment to determine if it will be removed.

Police say the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office has classified the death of a 9-year-old Wyandotte Elementary School student as "undetermined." Wyandotte Nation Tribal Police Chief Ken Murphy said Monday that independent examinations of Alyssa Avila found no overt signs of trauma. Murphy said trauma would be expected with a fatal blow to the head or the spine, but the absence of trauma doesn't eliminate the possibility of a head injury.

Alyssa's funeral is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Wyandotte School Gym.

More: Girl Dies After Playground Accident at Oklahoma School

The Associated Press contributed to this story.