UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 6, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A skateboarder broke both his legs after colliding with a car in Provo Canyon Friday.
Deputies responded to investigate a crash on Squaw Peak Road, said a news release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. The crash occurred a short distance below the Squaw Peak overlook, about four miles from U.S. Highway 189.
A 19-year-old Eagle Mountain man was riding a skateboard down Squaw Peak Road and drifted into the opposite lane of travel as he went around a curve, officials said.
“As he did this, a car coming up the road, driven by a 22-year-old Eagle Mountain man, rounded the same curve,” the news release said. “The driver was in the correct lane of travel and could not avoid the man on the skateboard.”
The man on the skateboard hit the front end of the car and sustained serious injuries. He was transported to Utah Valley Hospital by Provo Fire Department ambulance. He is believed to have broken both of his legs above the knee, officials said. The man in the car and his passenger were not injured.
“Those who engage in skateboarding on public streets are required to obey the same traffic laws as those driving motor vehicles,” said the news release. “That includes, among other things, obeying speed limits; 20 mph on Squaw Peak Road, driving only in the correct lane, and, like bicycles, remaining near the right edge of the road.”
It’s not clear at this time how fast the man on the skateboard was traveling.
“It was obviously fast enough that he was unable to stay on his side of the road and not be able to avoid hitting the car coming up the road,” the news release went on. “The driver of the car in this case was unable to move out of the path of the man on the skateboard.”
