Family turns son's tragic death into mission for new safety standards for fences

After a 7-year-old boy was killed by a falling school gate, his parents began pushing for change. Now, new safety standards aimed at preventing heavy gates from falling are moving forward.

Alex Quanbeck lived just seven years, but his parents said their son's impact could now help change safety standards across the country.

"He lived this larger-than-life seven years; really, just a charismatic little boy," said his mother, Dayna Quanbeck.

Alex was crushed by a 400-pound chain link gate fence in 2019 while playing during recess at his school near San Francisco.

"There's change that's going to happen, and I think the awareness is the first part," Dayna said.

Since Alex's death, his father, Eric – who grew up in north suburban Wilmette – and his mother, Dayna have pushed for stronger and consistent safety standards at schools through their nonprofit Ready Set Safe.

Eric and Dayna said they quickly learned that their son's tragedy was preventable

"There's a very known, simple solution to keep these gates from falling to the ground. It's a $50 piece," Eric said. "In our case, we believe it would have been the difference between life and death."

"I think there's one simple question that every parent should ask of their schools. When was the last safety assessment done?" Dayna said.

The Quanbecks took their fight for change and stronger safety standards all the way from San Fransico to the International Code Council in Country Club Hills.

"We set the basic, the minimum standard for safe building construction in the United States," said International Code Council CEO John Belcik.

The International Code Council, a membership association, creates and publishes standard model building regulations, and it's up to local and state governments whether to adopt their models into law.

The updated 2027 edition will include gate safety enhancements, like latches for gates over 7 feet

"So the gate cannot fall more than 45 degrees off of vertical," Belcik said. "Not just at schools, it applies to it any type of construction."

Belcik said the Quanbecks and their push for reform were instrumental in these changes to the model code.

"This keeps people, clearly keeps people safer. There is documented evidence," he said.

For the Quanbecks, the fight is about making sure no other parent experiences their pain.

"It gives me hope that that we can save, you know, just one family from the tragedy that we experienced. Just one family," Dayna said.