05:17 PM PDT on Friday, May 26, 2006

By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 News

MUKILTEO, Wash. - In the skating world, scrapes and bruises are seen as badges of honor. Usually skaters get up and live to ride again. But that may not be the case when things go wrong during the high-speed, high-risk type of skating known as longboarding.

KING

Joey Pyles was severely injured after he crashed his longboard into an SUV.

Riders often run the longer, faster boards on steep roads.

John Pyles thought he bought his son Joey just another skateboard until he was called last week to Harborview hospital. Joey crashed on his longboard.

“It's your worst nightmare times…his face was swollen, barely clinging to life,” Pyles said. "Police estimate his speed was 45 to 50 miles an hour at impact."

Joey was cruising solo at night down St. Andrews, a steep, curvy street in Mukilteo that's become a popular longboard run. He crashed into a parked SUV, smashing his face and liver. He lost his spleen and his right leg had to be amputated at the hip.

n its most recent statistics, the Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates there are more than 100,000 skateboard injuries per year in the United States.

Most are minor breaks and sprains. The agency doesn't tally longboard injuries separately.

But Pyles  thinks most parents are unaware that long boards are also long on risks for young riders.

“One fatal mistake at that kind of speed - 50-mph - can throw you, it can happen to anybody," he said.

Longboards are not new but are experiencing a renewed popularity.