BANGOR, Maine — An 11-year-old boy escaped with only minor injuries late Thursday morning after he ran into a tractor-trailer while skateboarding on Finson Road, police said.
The boy, whose name police would not release because he is a juvenile, was skateboarding near the intersection of Finson and Deer Isle roads when he struck the side of a truck driven by Ron Strout, owner of C.A. Strout & Sons of Bangor.
“Luckily he didn’t go underneath it,” said Strout, who was hauling a load of gravel to the company’s Finson Road headquarters. “If he would’ve gone under there, it would have been a lot more gruesome.”
Strout said the boy had headphones on while he was skating and that a friend tried to warn the boy the truck was coming.
Strout saw the boy zigzagging in the road on his skateboard and said he immediately slammed on his brakes.
After the boy hit the truck, he was sitting up on the grass and alert, and “wanted to leave and go home,” Strout said.
The boy suffered cuts and bruises in the accident and was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center for treatment, according to Bangor police Officer Dennis Townsend.
“The juvenile involved doesn’t appear to have life-threatening injuries,” Townsend said.
Townsend said the boy is “very fortunate” not to have been injured more seriously, given “that he was wearing headphones and not paying attention to where he was going.”
Police remained on the scene Thursday afternoon reconstructing the accident, Townsend said.
Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said later Thursday that no charges will be filed in connection with the accident.
Get well soon buddy. Summer is here and you will want to get back out there
Finson Rd is NO place to be skateboarding….people drive too fast down that road and often do not pay attention to walkers or bikers either!
Any road for that matter.
So how are they supposed to travel?
Without headphones is a good start
walk
So should we have a special lane for pedestrians and skate boarders who insist on moving about with head phones on, oblivious to their surrondings? Maybe we could put velvet roaps like they used to have in theaters to guide you through the maze of life.
Im sure BMHI has padded rooms…
Seems to me that 10 is too young to be skateboarding on any street aside from a cul-de-sac or dead end road. Where were the parents or caregiver?! Children that young just do not have the judgment to go out alone or with friends on a busy road.
Safety tips for parents of skateboarders: make sure your child wears a helmet at the least, and sturdy, flat soled shoes/sneakers. Know where your child is and approve the route. If the child is that young, there needs to be adult supervision. Skateboarding is a great sport that gets kids outside, improves their cardiovascular health, coordination, and confidence–when practiced safely!!
We build our communities with no place for skateboarders, pedestrians or bicycles — then complain about traffic congestion, obesity etc.
When around Capehart driving through, around, near, you can count on one thing, a 98% chance you are babysitting someone else’s child
All this blame hurled at that poor child, and his parents! What of the responsibility of the truck driver?
Bike paths, sidewalks? Our public ways should belong to everyone; should be more hospitable to our children, but our priorities are too perverse…. There is plenty of blame for all of us.Deeply sorry, may this child have a comfortable, and speedy recovery.
I don’t believe that I placed blame on anyone. If that is how you took it, I’m sorry.
The truck driver did see the boy and was stopping when he saw the boy, however he was fully loaded with gravel and had a lot of weight to stop. The boys friend was trying to tell the boy to stop but the boy was wearing headphones and was not paying attention. This was an accident, however bing a parent of a 10 year old myself I would not let my 10 year old go skateboarding down a street with out me with them.
Neither would I, and did not hold the child completely blameless. I simply raised the above questions in response to several comments critical of the boy and his family. For too many commenters, the “solution” is simply keep children inside, away from public ways… Is that the kind of community we want? ..or do we want our public ways to be safe for children?
How are you even going to attempt to blame the truck driver? The kid was 100% at fault.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” ~Bertrand Russell
How on Earth could you be so sure who was to blame? You have made my point, if you, like others on this thread claim that that child had no business using the road; that our public ways are for vehicles only. You have also made Mr. Russell’s point as well…
If the child had no right to use the road, then what, pray tell is available to him to use? Are we ONLY obligated to spend our tax dollars to accommodate vehicular traffic? …or should we, as in some parts of the country, construct our roads with bike paths and sidewalks that pedestrians may use?
I lived in Bangor, when I was younger, and opted for a bicycle in lieu of more expensive automobile. VERY difficult and dangerous — from traffic lights to shoulders…. No thought whatsoever to pedestrian and bike traffic. I felt like a second-class citizen.
…questions worth considering.
Seems to me the city of Bangor has many fine parks and even a skatepark to accomedate juveniles with thier boards. http://www.concretedisciples.com/skateparksdb/skateparks_display.php?id=2309
You cant say the community doesnt provide for them to play safely. The kid doesnt belong skating in the street period.
Random Skate Parks in Maine
Inner Sanction — Ellsworth, Maine
Windham Skate Park — Windham, Maine
biddeford skate park — biddeford, Maine
Orono YMCA Skatepark — Old Town, Maine
Sanford Skate Park — Sanford, Maine
Springvale Skatepark — Springvale, Maine
Dixfield Skatepark — Dixfield, Maine
Winthrop Skatepark — Winthrop, Maine
skowhegan skatepark — skowhegan, Maine
anti gravity center skatepark — sugar loaf , Maine
Go Big Skatepark — Bath, Maine
Down East Family YMCA Skatepark — Ellsworth , Maine
York Skate Park — York, Maine
old orchard beach skatepark — Old Orchard Beach, Maine
skowhegan skatepark — skowhegan, Maine
Auburn Skatepark — Auburn, Maine
Old Town YMCA Skatepark — Old Town, Maine
bar harbor skatepark — bar harbor, Maine
Oakland SkatePark — Oakland, Maine
Noah Team SkatePark — Undisclosed, Maine
bath skatepark — bath, Maine
winthrop skatepark — winthrop, Maine
Gage Street Skate Park — Augusta, Maine
Scarborough Skatepark — Scarborough, Maine
The Forum Skatepark — Portland, Maine
How, on Earth, are children supposed to GET to these places? In my day, we had things called sidewalks, crossing signals etc.
Your list is useless.
Oh woe is me. Maybe the tax payers could have seeing and hearing aid people to escort the little darlings while they have their ears plugged into their earphones, text, etc. That way they can go throught their early lives without ever having to take responsibility for their actions.
In my day we had a thing called look both ways before you cross the street and don’t play in the road.
Bangor’s Skate Park was moved from Bass Park (seen in your photo) to a new area between Maine Ave and Union street: http://tinyurl.com/7vkudgp
Thank goodness the boy seems to be okay!
“The true men of old were not afraid when they stood alone in their views”. – Chuang Tzu.
I’ll wager that when riding a bike on roads, you weren’t playing music through your headphones at ear splitting levels, either. Even at his young age, distracted skating makes the kid solely responsible.
When I was a kid, my cousin ran through a parking lot and bounced off a passing car – thankfully he hit the side of the car and wasn’t running in front of it when he collided with it. Not once did my aunt blame the driver!
I just almost hit a kid in Capehart on a skateboard last week! I was going only about 10 MPH coming up behind him because I know my car is quiet and their wheels are loud. Just as I was about to clear him, he zig zagged right into my path and I had to slam on the brakes. He screamed at me, “Why didn’t you beep your horn so I would know to stay out of the road???”
I asked him why he doesn’t know better than to look behind him before riding into the middle of the street? He gave me the finger and rode off.
It was a very touching moment! Haha. My point is, as a society we let people – especially this new generation of teens – slough off responsibility of their actions to everyone and anyone else. Are we preparing them all to be politicians???
If you read what I wrote again, you will see plenty of blame to go around. While I was taught, as a child, to take responsibility for myself while walking, I was also taught, when learning to drive a vehicle, the trememdous responsibility that entails; to always drive defensively as, “the other guy is a bigger da_n fool that you are”…. Drivers who feel that they “own the road” are incorrect.
I hope you’re kidding. You’ve got to be kidding. Right?
You have a bizarre sense of humor.
No, but I think your post was inane.
Taking responsibility for the safety of children in our community without keeping them locked up is “inane”? Sadly, too many of the commenters here share your nihilistic view.
Why don’t you begin “taking responsibility”, then, by advocating teaching the children that the road isn’t a playground?
Everything has a purpose. You seem to think that that truck is supposed to share the road in the sense that “the road is also where children should be allowed to play.”
If the kid wants to use a transportation asset, it is OK. Let’s not let the kid off too easily; s/he needs to follow rules of the road, one of which is, “Pay attention to what you are doing.”
Yes, your post was inane. Are you some kind of intellectual wannabe, or just a different variety of the nuisance type that troll around?
The boy was in the wrong for not keeping to the side of the road; for wearing headphones as I said above. However, I take issue with the number of comments that reflect an absolute certainty that the boy has NO business being there at all because the road is unsafe for him. Well, WHY is the road unsafe? …a question no one else is asking as they don’t mind constructing a car-centric world. We should rethink that.
They aren’t a place to play. Skateboarding is playing — except maybe in the minds of the delusional. Give it a rest, would ya?
I believe TimberedChoir is doing a passable attempt at troling. My guess is that he/she is not out of their teens.
I don’t know why things have changed so much since I was a kid. I had accidents with my bike and skateboard almost weekly, and guess what, not a one of them was reported in the Lewiston Sun.
I ran into the side of an old lady’s Buick, chipped my tooth on the back of a Public works truck on Blake Street, and drove my bike into the river. Never once did my parents (or anyone else) take me to the hospital. I got bandaged up, talked to, and sent out with an admonishment to “stay out of trouble.” Guess what, I’m still here, still whole, and not crippled.
That was in the “Olden” days when people took responsibility for themselves and Like my Grandfather use too say “You enjoy the pleasures, you accept the liabilities”.
Also it was an accepted part of kids growing up, that things would happen, but in today’s society there are those that have the concept that kids are suppose to be injury free until they are 18.
Boy, I miss those days ……………………..
Everyone is “sue happy” also. Truck driver did the right thing by covering his butt.
Your grandfather was truly a wise man. To bad so many deny any responsibility for anything in life anymore. Thus the welfare state and country for that matter we have now.
Thank you …………………………… he and many others of his era, kept things simple, straightforward and common sense prevailed most of the time.
It’s so easy to pop a story on the internet these days that anthing and everything is newsworthy. I grew up the way you did-wasn’t it great?
A close call that illustrates the great need for safe recreational options for the 1,400 action sports athletes in Bangor. They say “If your city doesn’t have a skatepark it is the skatepark.”
Last year nearly 40 people on skateboards died in collisions with cars in the US.
I am working with The Black Bear Skatepark Association and the city of Bangor to build an athletic facility that addresses this communities growing needs. Just as communities get together to build basketball courts and baseball fields, we need to get together to support the passions of our youth, giving them a safe and healthy place to grow and learn without competing with vehicles on the road.
It would be nice if these children were able to get to the skatepark safely, either as pedestrians or cyclists at the very least. It would help get people out of their cars as well.
It would help if they could keep their eyes and ears open to their surroundings in the process from of going from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’.
Why do we jump to blame the parent? I know personally that this 11 almost 12 year old boy (NOT 10) has gotten the riot act about helmets and every other safety issue… and is generally quite responsible and has had to be a stay at home by himself kid out of necessity for awhile and I repeat, generally responsible.. but please tell me what child even given the best parenting (please define this really… ) great guidance, and very specific guidelines and rules ALWAYS follows them and ALWAYS shows the best judgement… because if you have the secret, you should have the parent of the year award.
OF course this was a SERIOUS natural consequence but agian as some have said already no matter how much we shleter and protect our kids they are going to get hurt.
For the record, the family does NOT blame the driver in anyway, they know the boy is 100% at fault and are actually incredibly grateful for the driver’s attentiveness and quick thinking/acting.
I also know that as soon as his mom knew he was ok he has once again gotten the riot act from everyone… about his lack of thought… he has been chastised and I know he is INCREDIBLY shook up…. I will add… “Glad you are ok bud, now learn from it and educate your friends too… not only about the helmet but no headphones in transit and stay on the dang side of the road!!! We love you and hope you got the heck scared out of you”
my son would take his helmet off as soon as he got around the corner.
accidents happen. somehow, i feel like if this was a story about a jogger getting hit, there wouldn’t be the same outcry about irresponsibility, just well wishes for a speedy recovery.
I could not have said it better myself, Carrie.
I also personally know this family, he is my nephew, and is generally a very responsible (almost) 12 year old. I was babysitting/staying home by myself at 12 years old. And for those of you that think it’s a good ‘parenting’ idea to keep your child indoors or follow them around until they are 18 your child will not be self-sufficient. It does them no good to not allow them ‘some’ freedom.
The parents are not blaming the truck driver-he was actually a life saver in this event. And the child knows how lucky he is. It could have ended very differently and Thank goodness it did not. But yes, this is a warning to all children to always listen to what your parents say-they say it for a reason. And for parents to educate your children about how to have fun, but also be safe near/around the roadways. I know this child will be wearing his helmet from now on, even though he (and other kids) may think it makes them look stupid or uncool; he and his friends may think twice about going out without a helmet from now on. He had been warned many times of the dangers of not wearing a helmet and not listening to head phones while skateboarding (or any other activity on the side of the roads). As another parent said, they could be told a million times and as soon as you turn your head they are doing the same thing we just said not to do. We cannot ‘keep’ our children inside or protect them from accidents occurring, but what we can do it educate ourselves and our children. So yes, again please learn from this. Lets not place blame and point fingers people…as my parents always said… learn from the mistakes that others make.
Also there are no parks in this area; and there are many children that play, walk, run, bike, skateboard, etc. So to the driver…thank you! For paying attention, slowing down and just caring! And to other drivers in this area… (or any, really) the road isn’t just yours, and there will be kids/people/animals shooting out into the roads. This is one more reason for you to always be aware and in control of your vehicle (not texting or speeding). And to always educate your children how roads can be so dangerous.
As Carrie said, we (his family) have given him the riot act and he knows how serious this could have been….trust me, I was there!
This story has done exactly what it was supposed to. I wonder how many parents are talking to their kids about this. There are many kids out there who are now more aware of the dangers of being on a road or street that has no sidewalks. Thankfully, this reminder didn’t come at the cost of a young life.
best, most relevant comment on this story Tracy. thank you.
I Just wanted to put my 2 cents in. I was a kid once but i also paid vey close attention when i was riding or skateing down the road. but also last eek i was on Main Avenue Driving a Wheeler Truck and driving under the speed limit, i came upon the skate park next to the public works department. Just as i got to the park 4 kids came out of the woods, and never even looked and ran right out in front of my truck. Luckily i was driving slow but had to slam the brakes on. And yet they laughed about it when they got on the other side. Its not a game, big trucks cant stop in the same distance as a car. My2cents
So it’s the kids fault for not being in a crosswalk.
Apparently you have never been on Finson Rd….there are NO crosswalks (Only bu the school)! But he was skating down the side of the road weaving into the road with headphones on…not able to hear traffic coming behind him!
Lucky kid!
I heard it was actually a mini van or an Suv investigation ongoing