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RIVERTON -- A Riverton teen is expected to survive but will face a lengthy rehabilitation process following a "car-surfing" mishap.
The accident, which happened in the parking lot of Riverton High School Friday night, surprised students and is prompting a warning from school administrators and Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies.
Students say they don't even talk about the phenomenon. "That's kind of a dumb idea," one student told KSL Newsradio Monday.
Investigators say the teen hopped on top of a car and made it 50 yards before his friend hit the brakes, and he went flying. He hit his head and suffered a fractured skull. He was in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center at one point this weekend, despite simply going home after the ordeal.
"Vehicles can be a dangerous thing, and we need to respect them," Riverton High Principal Brad Sorensen said. "What seems like a simple prank, or a simple task, could end up doing a lot of damage."
Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson says he doesn't see a lot of these cases, but it doesn't help that these stunts have been popularized in movies and on YouTube. He says teens need to have some common sense.
"There's nobody that would get up on a 5-foot ladder and intentionally jump on their head on to concrete," Hutson said. "That's essentially what happens when you're flying off of a vehicle, and the first thing that hits the ground is your head."
Investigators are now looking into the possibility of charges.
"Obviously we're not going to charge somebody for jumping on a car," Hutson said. "So the question would be was there some negligence associated with the driver that actually started moving and then stopped."
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
