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WHITE CITY — A teenager who was struck by a vehicle nine months ago while riding his skateboard has died.
Zachery Taylor Lindley, 17, died Sept. 12 as a result of injuries he received when he was was hit by a Jeep at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2011, while crossing the street at an unmarked crosswalk. The teen had been riding his skateboard to see his girlfriend on the couple's three-month anniversary, according to Lindley's family.
"Zach lived 30 years in 17," said his father, Rob Lindley. "He was just after life all the time. He was a wonderful, beautiful kid."
Zach underwent nine brain surgeries to try to repair the damage from the accident, and in March, the family saw progress, as Zach seemed to respond to conversations in his hospital room. ultimately, though, the brain damage was too much to overcome.
"The brain injuries were so bad, there was just nothing we could do," Lindley said.
Zach was not wearing a helmet at the time of his accident. His father said as much as he encouraged the teen to wear the helmet his parents had bought for him, "it just wasn't cool."
When this happened, we believed God had a plan for him — that this would be a testimony. We didn't think this would be the testimony.
–Rob Lindley
"It makes good sense to wear protective gear, but they're kids," Lindley said. "Zach was following the law to the letter at the time of the accident. But one of the things there ought to be a law for is kids in the street on skateboards wearing helmets."
Helmets are not required by Utah law, although the state does have a higher rate of helmet usage than the U.S. as a whole, at 36.5 percent in Utah compared to 20 percent in the U.S.
Lindley was one of four teens injured Dec. 6 in auto-pedestrian accidents. Three of those teens, including Lindley, have since died as a result of their injuries.
"If I want anything to come out of this, it would be a way to help other families not to go through what we're going through, which is nine months of sheer terror, and having to let him go," Lindley said. "When this happened, we believed God had a plan for him — that this would be a testimony. We didn't think this would be the testimony."
The driver of the car has not been charged in the accident, but the case has been reopened for investigation.
