CHP officers say Mark Carpenter Junior died when he made a sudden sharp turn and a car hit him from behind.
Isaac Lopez skated home from summer school Tuesday with a very heavy heart. He showed up at class to learn his classmate and friend died doing a hobby he says Mark Carpenter recently took up. The two just skated together last Friday.
At Sanger High School, Superintendent Matt Navo says many students heard about what happened before they even made it to summer school. Word got around fast, and Carpenter was well known on campus.
"He is going into his junior year, everyone that talks about Mark says that he is an easygoing kid, very likeable," said Navo. "Liked to skateboard, his video games, his music. One of those kids who you would meet and in a short period of time, you would come to like."
Counselors were on campus to talk to students who felt they needed to express their grief. Some skateboarders, like Lopez said their friend's death reminded them of the dangers of skating in the street.
Lopez explained, "I never thought anything like this could happen because usually it doesn't happen and a lot of people skate on the streets and I guess he messed up a little bit and it happened."
Investigators say Carpenter was on North Avenue east of Thompson when witnesses said he was swerving back and forth on his skateboard.
Investigators say a driver heading in the same westbound direction tried to pass him. But officers say Carpenter made an abrupt left on his skateboard and right into the path of the truck. The skateboarder was not wearing a helmet and died at the scene.
