A 14-year-old boy died Thursday from injuries he suffered when he fell off his skateboard in Pearl City — the second skateboarding death this week.
The city Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Vepa Tripp of Pearl City.
Police said the teenager was riding a skateboard on Puu Momi Street on Wednesday and injured himself when he fell off the skateboard while trying to avoid a car that had pulled out of a driveway.
Tripp was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died Thursday.
His death was not considered a traffic fatality by police since no vehicles were involved.
Also on Thursday, John Ohelo, 53, of Kaimuki died after his skateboard hit a car.
Police said Ohelo was riding a skateboard on Alohea Avenue at about 12:15 p.m. when he made a right turn onto 10th Avenue in Kaimuki and struck a car that was at a stop sign.
Paramedics took him in critical condition to a hospital, where he died shortly after arriving. The Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine cause of death.
Ohelo’s death was the 28th traffic fatality on Oahu this year, compared with 33 for the same period last year.
The two skateboarding fatalities followed another in May.
Bernardo "Gnardo" Bernard, 26, a professional skateboarder, was killed May 18 by an alleged drunken driver in Kaaawa.
Friends said Bernard was camping at a graduation party at Swanzy Beach Park. He left the park and was following a friend on a skateboard on the highway near the Crouching Lion Inn and Keo Place when he veered onto the roadway into the path of a Kahuku-bound vehicle.
Last year Alan Danielson, 18, was killed while "skitching" on a skateboard. Skitching is hitching a ride by holding onto a moving vehicle while riding on a skateboard, roller skates or a bicycle.
Danielson was being pulled by a car Aug. 20 on Apapane Street in Kaneohe when he lost control of his skateboard and fell, striking his head on the pavement.
On April 17, 2013, Reid Krucky, 16, was killed while riding a skateboard. He was being towed by a moped, lost his balance, fell and hit his head on the pavement on Kalanipuu Street in Hawaii Kai, police said. Krucky was taken by ambulance in critical condition to a hospital where he died.
On Nov. 9, Eric Pierce, 44, died at the Queen’s Medical Center after falling and injuring his head while skateboarding down a steep hill at Makamai and Lilipuna streets in Kaneohe.
Past legislative attempts to require skateboarders to wear helmets have failed.
