Teen Riding on Roof of a Car Sustains Serious Head Injury

9/14/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Teen Riding on Roof of a Car Sustains Serious Head Injury

Few games are more dangerous than "car surfing," or riding on the outside of a moving car, SUV or pickup truck. The craze is growing in popularity, but, sadly, car surfing nearly led to the death of a teenager in Gastonia, North Carolina (NC), who sustained a serious head injury on September 12, 2011.

North Carolina Highway Patrol reported that two students were hanging onto the roof rack of a Nissan pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old when the injury accident occurred at Forestview High School on Union Road. WBTV.com reported that witnesses saw the driver reaching speeds of 20 to 30 mph in the school's parking lot.

Patrick Newcombe suffered a skull fracture and concussion. He was said to be drifting in and out of consciousness but is likely to recover from the accident. The student may have been lucky, but the experienced North Carolina (NC) traumatic brain injury attorneys wth our law firm have reported at length on the serious long-term effects of a concussion.

Also, car surfing has claimed lives. In February one of my colleagues noted that a teen killed in a fiery wreck in Florida (FL) may have been standing on the running board of an SUV. Such accdents prompted Florida lawmakers to make car surfing a criminal offense.

See this video about the dangers of car surfing.

Teens are in the highest risk group for distracted driving, be it talking on cell phones or texting. When teens are involved in a wide range of irresponsible and distracted driving activities, those hurt -- be they passengers in the car or other drivers on the road -- could have a legitimate claim for compensation if they are injured.

DM

Category: Carolina Car & Motorcycle Accidents

Labels: accident attorney car concussion Cooper distracted driving game Gastonia Head hurt injuries injury lawyer NC personal riding school surfing TBI teenager unconscious va Virginia

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law. We maintain office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC), on East Elizabeth Street, and we have handled thousands of cases in which victims got hurt or killed in car, truck, train and motorcycle crashes caused by others' negligence or carelessness.

We serve every area of North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, Edenton, Raleigh, Durham, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Halifax, Northampton, Greenville, Goldsboro, Havelock, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, Wilson, Ahoskie, Currituck, Camden and the Outer Banks towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Manteo, Corolla, Currituck and Dare. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Firm attorneys Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, our firm has been named a North Carolina "Best Law Firm" for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.

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Teen Riding on Roof of a Car Sustains Serious Head Injury

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