Skateboard safety concerns in Riverside County after two deaths

By: Associated Press - | Sunday, August 19, 2007 11:09 PM PDT ∞

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Two children were killed in separate skateboarding accidents this month in Riverside County, prompting safety experts to urge skaters to wear safety gear and ride in designated areas.

Twelve-year-old Sean Mikhail died Aug. 11 in Moreno Valley when he fell off his skateboard and hit his head on the pavement. He was not wearing a helmet.

In Menifee, Marlena Mattfeld, 11, of Long Beach, died Aug. 13, three days after she lost control and slid beneath a moving motor home, near her grandmother's home.

While skateboarding deaths are uncommon, they are a reminder of the importance of taking precautions like wearing a helmet, said Victoria Young, program coordinator for Riverside County Injury Prevention Services.

California law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while using any wheeled equipment, including skateboards, bicycles and scooters. Many cities have ordinances that regulate skateboarding and helmet laws at city parks and on public property.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

please wrote on Aug 20, 2007 7:04 AM:Parents please make your kids wear helmets. Being or looking cool is not so great when you wind up brain dead or dead dead. We do have a responsibility to our kids to keep them safe. Helmets are one simple way and knowing where they are riding is also. Get more involved. Be more of a parent and less of the cool buddy parent.

concerned parent wrote on Nov 3, 2007 6:41 AM:Do you realize that you do not know the whole story and your words are like daggers to the parents?

Shah-Yeah wrote on Aug 5, 2008 2:49 PM:Wearing a helmet wont keep you from dying. but maybe "please" should have worn one before they wrote their above comment.

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