Skateboarder hit, killed by driver, 16
A teenager skateboarding home in Middleborough Saturday night was struck and killed by a minivan driven by a 16-year-old, police said.
Christopher Brooks, 18, of Middleborough, was wearing dark clothing while he was skateboarding north along Route 28, a portion of the state highway where pedestrian traffic is permitted, but there are no sidewalks, Middleborough police Sergeant Cory Mills said yesterday. The area of the highway Brooks was traveling was not well lit and the speed limit is 50 miles per hour, Mills said.
The driver, Jordan Layman, of Middleborough, was heading north along Route 28 in a 2003 Ford minivan and has only had his junior operator’s license for two months, Mills said. Layman was driving alone at the time of the accident and was in the parameters of his driving permit, Mills said. Police do not suspect drugs, alcohol, or speed to be a factor, he also said.
Middleborough police and fire responded at about 11:25 p.m., and Brooks was pronounced dead at the scene, Mills said.
“That night it could have been any one of us,’’ he said of the conditions of the accident.
Police do not expect to bring charges against the driver, according to Mills.
The accident is still under investigation.