A new playground in Greenbrae will honor the memory of a 7-year-old boy

Dayna Quanbeck was attending a show by Lego sculptor Sean Kenney when she saw him: a giant hummingbird made of 31,565 Lego bricks, with a beak depicting an equally large Lego flower.

Quanbeck immediately attempted to purchase the work, which she considered a symbol of her late son Alex. The 7-year-old child who died nearly five years ago at his San Rafael school after being crushed by a 300-pound roller shutter loved Legos and nature.

Now the Lego sculpture stands in Niven Park in Greenbrae as part of “Alex’s Playground and Discovery Gardens”. The grand opening is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park on Barry Way.

“He really loved life,” Quanbeck said Thursday. “He loved adventure and was always finding bugs, lizards and other creatures.”

The sculpture also invokes the name of the Hummingbird Alliance, a nonprofit organization founded by the family after Alex’s death to push for tighter security at the gates. Alex told his mother a few months before he died that if something ever happened to him, he would become a baby hummingbird so he could be with her.

The day after his death, Quanbeck said, “I saw a little hummingbird in our garden. He was there for a short while and then flew away with his friend.

The family paid for a new playground and gardens at Niven Park.

“Quanbeck allowed us to create something really beautiful and bold in design,” said Rita Schock, project manager and administrator of the Larkspur Parks and Recreation Department. “Recently, many young families have moved to the area. This way they can come in and have fun.”

Saturday’s ceremony will feature firefighters, doctors, nurses and others who were involved in the rescue operation after Alex’s fatal accident at Mark Day School. The ceremony will be followed by activities for toddlers and treats from Alex’s favorite vendors at the nearby Bon Air Center, Schock said.

For Quanbeck, the new park facilities and event are a celebration of Alex’s life.

“We built a playground that we knew Alex would love,” she said. “We hope we have created a way for families to come together and have fun.”

The Quanbecks lived in Greenbrae before Alex’s death, but later moved to San Francisco. They have three other children.

Since their deaths, the Quanbecks have tried to improve gate security. Their work focuses on how the tragedy could have been prevented if gate contractors had been required to install a $50 part called a post stop that would have prevented the roller gate from falling if the wheels came off the track.

So far, the state Assembly has passed AB 2149, or “Alex’s Law,” championed by Assemblyman Damon Connolly, a San Rafael resident. If AB 2149 becomes law, it will mean that owners of adjustable gates will have to have their gates inspected by a safety professional by July 2026 and have them re-inspected every five years.

Violators will be required to stop using the gates until they are repaired by a licensed contractor. Under the bill, a gate that violates the regulations will be considered a public nuisance if the owner fails to comply with the law within 30 days of receiving notice of the violation.

Larkspur and San Rafael have already tightened their gate security regulations.

The Quanbecks’ work could have an impact beyond California. During construction at Niven Park, Schock said she spoke by phone with a technician from gate manufacturer Midwest handling the project. She mentioned the city’s interest in installing a safety device to prevent the park gate from tipping over.

“They talked about it when I went to the American Fence Association convention,” the technician told Schock. “We all think it’s a really great thing.”

Dayna Quanbeck stated that Schock’s anecdote was “kismet” for her.

“Change is happening,” she said. “When you’re busy working, it’s hard to know.”