A nighttime ride on an electric skateboard ended in a Harborview Medical Center helicopter trip this week, after the rider collided head-on with a car in Silverdale, Washington. The crash happened at the intersection of Kitsap Mall Boulevard and Poplars Avenue around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28th, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver told deputies he was simply heading home from work when the skateboarder rode directly into the front end of his vehicle, striking the windshield at a high rate of speed. It’s the kind of split-second scenario every driver dreads: no time to react, no way to see it coming, and suddenly a person is on your hood.
The rider was wearing a helmet, which almost certainly played a role in him staying conscious and able to communicate with first responders. Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue transported him for treatment, and he reportedly told crews he’d been drinking alcohol and using marijuana before the ride. He was then airlifted to Harborview for further care. As of now, the collision remains under investigation.
For those unfamiliar with the area, Kitsap Mall Boulevard is a busy stretch near, well, the Kitsap Mall, and Poplars Avenue crosses right through commercial and residential traffic. It’s not the kind of place you’d expect a high-speed E-skateboard to appear out of the dark, but that’s exactly what happened.
What We Know About the Crash
The details here are still pretty limited, which is normal for an active investigation. We know the time, the location, the vehicle involved, and that impairment was a factor for the rider.
What we don’t know yet is exactly how fast either party was traveling, what the lighting and visibility were like at that specific corner, or whether any citations will follow once investigators wrap up.
E-Skateboards and Nighttime Visibility
E-skateboards have gotten seriously fast in recent years, some capable of pushing well past 25 mph. That’s great fun in a parking lot or a bike path, but it also means riders can close distance on a driver faster than a driver’s brain can process “wait, what is that.”
Add nighttime conditions and dark clothing into the mix, and a rider becomes nearly invisible until they’re right in front of your headlights.
Our Take
Honestly, our first thought reading this was the same as one of the commenters: thank goodness this wasn’t a lifted pickup truck or an SUV with a tall front end. A Mini Cooper’s low, rounded nose probably absorbed some of that impact in a way a bigger vehicle simply wouldn’t have.
Beyond that, this feels like one of those situations where nobody involved woke up that day expecting their evening to end at Harborview. We’re just hoping for a full recovery for the rider and a little peace of mind for a driver who, by every account here, did nothing wrong.