A Monday evening accident in Berkeley has claimed the life of an 18-year-old skateboarder. Police say the young man was riding his skateboard in the street shortly after 7:00 p.m., when he was struck by a Prius on Marin Avenue. The Berkeley resident reportedly attended school in El Cerrito, a community that has been shaken by two fatal accidents in just three days.
Berkeley Police say that a 54-year-old man was traveling east on Marin Monday, and attempted to make a left-hand turn onto Tulare when his Prius struck the skateboarder. The accident victim suffered grave injuries and was taken to the trauma center at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
The young man fought for his life for roughly two days. Authorities report that the skateboarder lost his battle and was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.
The driver of the Prius stopped immediately after the pedestrian accident. No citations have been issued and police say that alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
On Sunday a 17-year-old El Cerrito student who attended the same school as the skateboarder was killed after being struck by a train. The fatal train and pedestrian accident was reported at roughly 3:00 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Carlson and Cutting boulevards. Police say that it is unclear what the young man was doing on the tracks early Sunday morning.
Fatal accidents can leave families of the accident victims devastated. The two fatal accidents involving students from the same school has also left the high school campus reeling.
A spokesman for the West Contra Costa school district says that school officials began connecting with students during the weekend in the aftermath of the first fatal accident. Officials say that the health center at the school opened its doors Monday for classmates seeking grief counseling.
Source: Contra Costa Times, “El Cerrito High School shaken by fatal accidents,” Feb. 2, 2012
