Jamie Reidy shares a shocking video of a skateboarder getting hit by a truck and flying two house-lengths down the street.
Watching this Mashable video of Serge Murphy made me thankful I didn’t catch the skateboarding bug!
When I was nine, I spent an overnight at my grandparents’ apartment in Yonkers, NY, 20 minutes north of NYC. On the way home, Grandpa took me to a sporting goods store. He said I could get one thing for less than some-dollar-amount-I-don’t-recall.
I agonized between a first baseman’s mitt and a red skateboard. Finally, I chose the board.
My mother did not share my enthusiasm. She filled my brain with fears of broken limbs. We lived on a hill, so from the start I idiotically practiced at a higher rate of speed than recommendable. Not surprisingly, I did not “get good,” as my neighborhood pals said. No Tony Hawk, for me.
After a few weeks, the skateboard got pushed to the back of the garage. My younger brother ended up getting a lot more use out of it – as a personnel carrier for his brigade of plastic Army guys.
Clearly, that Mensa member did not listen when his mom told him to look both ways before crossing the street. I feel bad for the truck driver, who must’ve nearly suffered a heart attack, thanks to the daredevil/moron.
And, if you have a friend to video your ride, why not ask that same friend to, uh, make sure the street is clear???
GMP readers, would you let your kids skateboard?
Would I let my kids skateboard? Sure – parents dishing out random bans never prevented anyone getting hurt. But I would talk to them about where they skate, and about the measures that need to be takes for safety in those circumstances. And about that trick called “using the inside of you head” that we’ve been practicing.
I can’t look out for my kids every minute of every day, forever. But I can try real hard to teach them to look out for themselves.
This sucks on multiple levels. The first one obviously being the fact that Serge was obliterated by a moving vehicle. I can only hope he makes a speedy and full recovery. The second is that this is going to set skateboarding back years! Half of the fun of street skating is the improvisational opportunity that the urban environment brings.One can literally skate anything if the athletic ability and imagination can co-exist. However, rule number one when skating an area like the one Serge was riding is POST A LOOKOUT!!!! Seriously. You always have someone on the street either stopping traffic… Read more »
Jesus 🙁
I’d let my kids skateboard, but not down a hill onto a blind junction.