A male riding a skateboard was struck by a gray Honda Odyssey near the Watsco Center parking lot around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19.
A UM student who witnessed the skateboarder get hit, Whitney Shelton, said that she was keeping her distance from the car before the accident because the driver had “cut [her] off turning into the University and almost hit [her] car.” The accident with the skateboarder occurred shortly after.
Shelton said that the driver turned left into the Watsco parking lot and the skateboarder was on the sidewalk. As the car turned into the parking lot, the skateboarder continued straight along the sidewalk — which went through the parking lot entrance — but the driver did not see him and crashed into him.
“I think he was scraped up and startled. I left before I could truly see all the injuries but it looked bad. The car hit the guy and he fell straight onto the ground and I believe rolled,” Shelton said. “He was very close to being run over because they slammed on [the] brakes after hitting him,” said Shelton.
Shelton said she nearly called 911, but she did not end up reporting the incident to UMPD or the police.
The driver and the passenger have not been identified, but the vehicle had a Florida license plate.
The Hurricane reached out to UM and members of UMPD and has not yet received a response.
Martina Panteleon contributed to the reporting of this article.