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Injured Berkeley Skateboarder Tyler De Martini Dies

Tyler De Martini, the 18-year-old Berkeley resident who was gravely injured Monday night when hit by a car while skateboarding, died this afternoon at Highland Hospital, police said.

 

Tyler De Martini — the 18-year-old who suffered a critical head injury when he was hit by a car on Marin Avenue while skateboarding — died Wednesday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. at Highland Hospital, according to Berkeley police.

"Members of BPD (Berkeley Police Department) extend their condolences to the De Martini family," police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said in a news update.

Friends and family members of De Martini had been at his hospital bedside as the young man lay in a coma since the accident Monday night when he was hit by a car while riding his skateboard on Marin Avenue.

Earlier today, friend Gabe Scaglione said De Martini was being kept alive by machines as loved ones spend some last moments with him. Tests for brain stem activity came back negative, Gabe told Berkeley Patch in a message on Twitter.

De Martini was skateboarding west down Marin Avenue about 7 p.m. Monday night when he was hit a Prius going eastbound on Marin that was turning onto Tulare Avenue, Berkeley police said. He was not wearing a helmet and had an obvious head injury, according to police and witness accounts.

Sgt. Kusmiss added additional news with some reluctance:

"Although difficult to share, the BPD preliminary collision investigation has determined the PCF — Primary Collision Factor — as 'a pedestrian in the roadway.' Skateboarders are considered pedestrians in the CA Vehicle Code. Pedestrian on Roadway CVC 21956.  (a) No pedestrian may walk upon any roadway outside of a business or residence district otherwise than close to his or her left-hand edge of the roadway."

Earlier today, Albany mom Amanda Azevedo said her daughter went to Highland Hospital to see Tyler. She shared, on Facebook, that her daughter called her crying at about 2:30 p.m., saying Tyler "passed away before they got there." 

Friends and family members have been sharing additional information. 

Scaglione's mom, Janet, wrote via email to Patch that a number of kids were at the hospital writing notes to Tyler. 

Azevedo said her daughter went to Highland "with a few close friends; they're all still together. I told her she could be with them for a while, to talk and cry and be together."

De Martini was the second East Bay young man to die from a head injury caused by a skateboarding accident in the past week. On Sunday, Tucker Hacking, 20, of Walnut Creek died after a skateboard accident in Lafayette Friday. Hacking, who hit his head after falling from his board on a steep road, was not wearing a helmet, according to the Contra Costa Times.

Please share your memories or condolences in the comments below. If you would like to share pictures of Tyler De Martini, please click on "upload photos."

Related Topics: Brain Stem Death, Car Crash, Marin Avenue, Tyler De Martini, collision, highland hospital, and skateboarder

Jason

4:25 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Condolences to all his friends and family.

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Benjamin Smith

4:37 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

That is so sad. Best wishes to his family and loved ones... Rest in peace

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Monica Lam

5:09 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

So sorry to hear about this tragic accident. Condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.

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Vox Humana

10:17 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Really sorry for his family and friends. It will be difficult to get through this. I hope your memories of his exuberance and spirit will remain with you forever.

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Forest Kaser

5:50 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012

I don't understand why that part of the vehicle code would apply in this situation. The code applies "outside of a business or residence district." Didn't the accident clearly happen in a residence district? If so, why would that code apply?

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Anne

11:12 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012

This death is a tragedy that DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN !

Please extend very sincere condolences to the deMartini family and friends, but, also, extend our condolences to the driver, in innocent person who will live forever remembering and regretting this tragic loss !

From a careful bicyclist (with lights front, back, and both sides, always wearing a helmet) who is, also, a careful driver who watches attentively for pedestrians, skateboarders, and bicyclists but worries that, some night, no matter how carefully I drive, I might not SEE a fast-moving pedestrian, skateboarder, or bicyclist, dressed in dark clothing, without lights, in time to stop !

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