A child on a skateboard was struck by a vehicle and seriously injured Tuesday in Redondo Beach.Children skateboarding in Shanghai
The collision occurred about 7:25 a.m. at the intersection of Curtis Avenue and Felton Lane, according to Redondo Beach Police Department Lt. Jeff Mendence.
The skateboarder was taken to a Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the
driver of the vehicle involved remained at the scene as required,
Mendence said.“Initial investigation indicated that the pedestrian rode a
skateboard into the roadway where the collision occurred,” Mendence
said. “The driver was released, and the case remains under
investigation.”
Skateboarding can be a fun and challenging activity, but it also comes with a significant risk of injury, researchers report.
The researchers examined data spanning two decades and found that more than 64,500 U.S. children and teens were treated in hospital emergency rooms each year -- about 176 a day -- for skateboarding-related injuries. Fractures and dislocations were among the most common injuries, the study indicated.
"Part of the fun of skateboarding and board sports in general is
using gravity to kind of get away with something you can't get away with
just running on your own two feet. But when you come down, it's just
like when someone hits you with a hammer. It hurts, and things can
break," said Dr. Mark Morocco, an associate clinical professor of
medicine/emergency medicine at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Morocco was not involved in the current research.
Five deaths were
reported during the study period. All were due to motor vehicle
collisions. But the study's lead author, Lara McKenzie, suggested that
the death rate may be underreported. McKenzie is a principal
investigator with the Center for Injury Research and Policy at
Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
The study included data for kids between 5 and 19 years old. All were treated in U.S. emergency departments for skateboarding-related injuries from 1990-2008.
From 1990 to 1994, the number of skateboarding injuries actually fell. But from 1994 through 2008, the rate of injuries rose again, according to the study.McKenzie believes those changes can be attributed to "the waxing and waning of the popularity of the sport. Kids want to do it, they do, then move on to the next thing," she said.
Males were far more likely than females to be injured. Almost 40 percent of injuries occurred at home. Just under 30 percent occurred on a street or highway, the study found.One piece of good news from the study is that most of the kids injured don't end up admitted to the hospital.Young daredevils may try to emulate tricks they've seen professionals do, but Morocco noted that professionals take extra safety precautions.
