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Coarsegold teen killed in skateboarding accident

January 19, 2013 12:00:00 AM PST
A Coarsegold teen was killed when he skateboarded down a steep hill and hit a car.

The victim, Jacob Schumaker, was 17 years old. The accident occurred at a normally quiet intersection in the Yosemite Lakes Park community.

Sgt. Brad Denham of the California Highway Patrol explained how it happened. "The young man on the skateboard was traveling westbound on Yosemite Springs Parkway. He traversed a skateboard through a stop sign on Road 400 directly into the path of an oncoming vehicle driven by a 64-year-old woman from Coarsegold. It's just a very tragic situation."

The driver of the car along with other witnesses tried desperately to save the young man's life, but he died of traumatic injuries at the scene.

Schumaker had been a student at Yosemite High School. Friend Katie Carrington, who is 16, said Jacob was a fun loving and carefree boy. "Always making jokes about anything, anything at all. He didn't care about anything."

Natalya Choin, 16, was also a friend of Jacob's. She said he was never without his skateboard. "He skateboarded all the time, day and night. I saw him two days ago. He came over to my house, just skateboarded around, that's what he did. All the time He was very good at it. That was his life . That's what he did all the time."

The Highway Patrol said there was nothing to indicate this was anything more than a very sad, and unfortunate accident.

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