Calls for Crackdown on Dangerous Skateboarding
A teenager died Saturday while "speed-bombing" a hill in San Pedro
KNBC-TV
A shrine marks the spot where a 15 year old boy died Saturday while speed bombing down a steep San Pedro hill. Now, there are calls for the police to crackdown on this dangerous practice.
San Pedro’s steep hills have served as a magnet for skateboarders seeking thrills. They call the adrenalin-rush ride down the hills “speed-bombing” -- an activity that is not only dangerous, but deadly.
On Saturday, Caleb Daniel Simpson, 15, of Palmdale, took a fatal spill while speed-bombing down the hill in the 1500 block of West 14th Street. A small shrine marked the spot Thursday where Simpson was severely injured.
A skateboarder named Tyler said his mother brought him to this spot, even though he did not know Simpson. She brought him there because he liked to engage in speed-bombing.
"She doesn’t want me to bomb hills anymore,” he said, admitting his mother was worried about him.
San Pedro resident Mike Medak said the skateboarders come down the hills very fast wearing no protective gear.
"I see them, I would say, once a week in this area,” he noted.
The skateboarders pick up intense speed, blow through stop signs and even traffic lights as they let the momentum carry them down hill after hill. They reach speeds of 20 miles per hour.
The newest member of the Los Angeles City Council, Joe Buscaino, who represents San Pedro and is a former Los Angeles police officer, brought the issue up at the Council this week.
He issued a statement that said, “Parents owe it to each other to make sure that all of our children are wearing helmets when they are skating and that they keep off the roadways.”
The City Council is considering ways to monitor skateboarding offenders and to make sure they receive citations. One approach might be to enforce helmet laws, which require skateboarders 18 and under to wear them.
Police also might consider conducting “hot spot” stings with plainclothes officers to crack down on unsafe and illegal practices.
“Tyler,” who twice broke his arm while skateboarding, admitted he’s skated up to 20 miles per hour on the same route that killed Caleb Simpson. Seeing the memorial apparently had some impact on him. He’s now considering using a helmet and even arm and elbow knee pads the next time he gets on his board.
Meanwhile, a rosary will be recited Friday evening for Caleb with a funeral mass the following day at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lancaster.
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