Morro Bay skate museum owner ends cross-country ride after 3 close calls

The owner of the Morro Bay Skateboard Museum has ended his cross-country trip on an electric skateboard because he feared for his safety.

Jack Smith had planned to become the first person to ride an electric skateboard across the country, when he left on his trip two weeks ago from Florence, Oregon.

After traveling for seven days, however, he ended his journey on Sept. 21 in Mountain Home, Idaho, about 45 miles from Boise, out of fear he might be hit by a passing vehicle.

Smith had close calls with two cars and a semi-truck as he skated along the shoulder of roadways.

“Every night when I called my wife, I could hear the worry in her voice,” Smith said. “It was a hard call, but I decided it wasn’t worth losing my life.”

Smith had ridden across the country on foot-propelled skateboards four times previously. This was to be his fifth at the age of 59.

All of the sponsorship and donation money raised for the trip, an estimated $2,000 to $3,000, will go to Board Rescue, a nonprofit that provides skateboards to needy kids.

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Morro Bay skate museum owner ends cross-country ride after 3 close calls."