Teen on electric skateboard hit by car, airlifted to hospital

CELINA - A Celina teen using an electric skateboard was struck by a car and airlifted to a Dayton area hospital with life-threatening injuries on Thursday morning.

Chance Crouch, 18, was riding an electric skateboard westbound on Myers Road, approaching Queensbury Drive, just before 2 a.m., according to a Celina Police Department news release.

Crouch was reportedly wearing dark clothing and "was not easily visible during hours of darkness."

Jaden Flores, 20, Celina, was driving a 2009 Honda Civic eastbound on Myers Road and attempted to turn north onto Queensbury Drive. Flores "inadvertently turned in front of Crouch and the two collided," according to the release.

Crouch was reportedly transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and then taken by helicopter to a Dayton area hospital.

Flores was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

The police department noted that non-licensed electric skateboards, scooters and similar "toy vehicles" are dangerous and illegal for road use. They are not designed nor intended to be used on roadways, per the release.

In the aftermath of the accident, the Celina Police Department on Thursday afternoon made a post on its Facebook page stating electric skateboards and scooters are not allowed on Celina streets per city ordinance.

The police department also signaled a shift in policy.

"Celina officers have been issuing warnings for the past several months to individuals riding these on the streets," the release states. "Officers will now begin issuing citations to offenders and possibly even taking the skateboards and/or scooters as evidence until they are released through the court process."

This is not the first time the police department has underscored that the use of electric skateboards and similar devices on city streets is illegal.

On Aug. 20, 2020, Celina Police Chief Tom Wale issued a news release stating officers plan to cite users of electric skateboards and similar devices after a series of warnings had failed to deter their use.

"They are a traffic hazard and present a great risk of serious physical harm to the rider in the event of a traffic crash," the release reads. "Also, most of them travel significantly faster than the average pedestrian and therefore also present a substantial risk of harm to pedestrians."

A few days later at a city council meeting, city officials stressed that the laws prohibiting electric skateboards and similar devices have been on the books for years.

"The reality is you're not supposed to have motorized toys on the sidewalks. You're not supposed to have motorized things in the street unless it's licensable," Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel had said at the time.