Wheaton North student seriously injured while 'car surfing'

A Wheaton North High School student was severely injured in a “car surfing” accident that occurred after school Tuesday afternoon, according to school district officials.

The 16-year-old boy was “surfing” on the hood of a vehicle before he was run over by the car, said Wheaton Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 spokeswoman Erica Loiacono.

The boy was airlifted from the scene to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Loiacono said.

A number of students went to North Side Park near the high school to shortly after school Tuesday, and a some of the students began “car surfing,” officials said.

“One student was on the front of one of the cars on the hood,” Loiacono said. “He fell off and the car rolled over him.”

She said another person was driving the vehicle when it ran over the 16-year-old boy, but did not have information about the driver.

The group immediately contacted police and paramedics, Loiacono said.

Wheaton Police are investigating, but could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The latest car surfing injury comes less than a year after a 20-year-old Hoffman Estates man died from injuries suffered in a similar accident.

The driver of the vehicle in that case was originally charged with reckless homicide after Austin Watts fell from the car and struck his head in a parking lot. Watts died two days after falling from the vehicle.

On May 21, Stephen Gallagher, 20, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving and he was sentenced to 180 days plus two years of probation.