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19-Year-Old Skateboarder Dies In St. Paul 'Skitching' Accident

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A skateboarding accident has claimed the life of a young man from Eagan.

Gunnar Miller, 19, died from the injuries he suffered while performing a stunt skateboarders call "skitching," which is when a skateboarder holds on to a moving car and lets the car pull them along the street. It was made famous in the film "Back to the Future".

St. Paul police say Miller was riding his skateboard around 1 p.m. Tuesday before the fatal accident.

"He came up to a friend that was at that intersection at a stop sign and said, 'hey, can I skitch,'" Sgt. Paul Paulos, Public Information Officer for St. Paul Police, said.

Police say Miller grabbed the car's side mirror and as the driver took off, Miller and his skateboard went along for the ride.

"He does do that for a very short distance, holding on to the driver's side mirror, at which point he lets go. As reported to the police, the last thing he is seen is traveling and then falling from that skateboard," Paulos said.

Police arrived at the intersection of Prior and Carroll avenues to find Miller on the ground with a head injury. He was taken to Regions Hospital where he died a short time later.

"What this truly is today is an accident," Paulos said.

Investigators say the driver of the car had nothing to do with the accident.

Both police and skateboarders say "skitching" is something that should be left to professional stuntmen, in the movies.

"Please be careful. I know things on TV, YouTube and stuff are very exciting, but it can also turn dangerous," Paulos said.

The 23-year-old driver of the car was not charged. He was given a sobriety tested at the scene and investigators say there was no alcohol in his system.

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