Thousand Oaks boy dies after fall from skateboard

A skateboarding fall led to the death of a 13-year-old boy.

James Street's skateboard slipped out from under him when he was rolling down a hill at around 7:15 p.m. July 4 in the 1100 block of Calle Pecos in Thousand Oaks, according to Ventura County senior medical examiner Mike Feiler. The boy, who wasn't wearing a helmet, hit his head on the pavement.

James was taken by ambulance to Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at about 10:30 p.m. The official cause of death was blunt force head injury, Feiler said.

Wearing a helmet while skateboarding isn't required by law, Capt. Randy Pentis said. "A death from skateboarding is very, very rare and very tragic. It breaks your heart as a cop and as a parent," he said.

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- - Nancy Needham