By Mandy Sutyak

MandyS@lhvc.com

There are rumors of "car surfing" in Niwot, although Niwot High School Resource Office Steve Aubry said he had not heard any reports. However, there is hard evidence that teens are involved in another activity called "skitching."

Skitching involves skateboards or rollerblades hanging on to a moving vehicle. The practice has been known to result in injury or even death when skitchers fall. Car surfing is an extremely dangerous and often deadly activity that involves a person riding on a car's hood, roof or trunk while the car is moving. Typically SUVs are used because of the greater height and flatter roof.

Aubry said, "It's inevitable that you're going to fall off." He went on to say that the "surfer" is totally at the mercy of the driver.

There are severe consequences for drivers involved in car surfing. If a surfer is killed, the driver is likely to face a charge of vehicular homicide, a felony. If the surfer survives, the driver may still face a charge of vehicular assault and reckless driving, which is an eight-point violation and would result in a minor losing his or her license.

An incident of alleged car surfing in Fort Collins in Sept. 2004 resulted in the death of 15-year-old Shailynne Manning. Police stated that eyewitness accounts said Manning was car-surfing when she fell off the hood. Manning's father said his daughter was sitting on the car's hood when the driver put the car into gear.

The driver, 17-year-old Karen Buckley, pleaded guilty to juvenile vehicular homicide-reckless driving and was sentenced to two years in a juvenile facility. Had she been charged as an adult, Buckley could have received up to 12 years in prison.