‘Unimaginable.’ 15-year-old on ‘makeshift’ skateboard is hit and killed, NC cops say

UPDATE: On March 6, Lincoln Charter School in North Carolina said Jadon Goje was a freshman on its Denver campus. The teen died after he was hit while riding a “makeshift” skateboard, according to state troopers.

“During this time, we extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Jadon’s family and loved ones,” the school wrote in an emailed statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”

The original story is below.

A 15-year-old on a “makeshift” skateboard died after a semitruck hit him near his North Carolina home, state troopers said.

The teen boy was riding the skateboard out of his Catawba County driveway when he went into the road “and was struck by a 2011 Freightliner truck,” the N.C. State Highway Patrol wrote in a March 5 news release.

The teen was rushed to a hospital in nearby Lincolnton, where he died from crash-related injuries. Troopers identified him as Jadon Goje in an email to McClatchy News.

Highway patrol responded to the deadly crash at about 3:50 p.m. March 5. It was reported along Caleb Road in the Maiden area, roughly 35 miles northwest of Charlotte.

The on-scene investigation closed the road for about one hour. Troopers believe the teen was riding on a homemade skateboard, consisting of a “board that had office chair rollers attached to it.”

Highway patrol reported finding no evidence that impairment or speed contributed to the crash, which didn’t injure the 19-year-old semitruck driver or a passenger in the truck.

“No charges will be filed in this case against the driver,” troopers wrote.