Officials on Saturday released the name of a 20-year-old man who was riding a skateboard when he fatally collided with a dump truck on a mountain road in the Angeles National Forest north of San Dimas.
The victim was identified as Eric Pederson, of Clayton, said Lt. David Smith of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Authorities had previously said Pederson was 21 years old.
Firefighters responded about 10 a.m. Friday to a report of a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian at Glendora Mountain Road and East Fork Road (map), said Randall Wright of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Pederson was pronounced dead on arrival.
He was headed downhill and rounding a curve when he crossed the double yellow lines and collided with a truck that was traveling in the opposite direction, the California Highway Patrol said.
Another skateboarder who was with Pederson at the the time managed to swerve out of the way, according to a CHP sergeant at the scene. Additional friends were riding in a car behind the skateboarders, the agency said.
No one else was hurt in the incident.
“You have blind curves, you have a lot of traffic going up and down, you have unsafe speeds,” CHP Sgt. Napoleon Salais said. “It’s a recipe for disaster.”
Two people, who declined to be interviewed on camera, said they saw the crash and believed the skaters were crouching on their boards when the victim was hit.
Investigators did not say whether Pederson was on his back or feet.
The two witnesses asked Trixie Reese, who owns a cafe near the crash site, to call for help. There is no cellphone reception in the area.
“They were crying. They were traumatized and they were upset. They didn’t know what to do,” Reese said. “They said a boy went down on a skateboard and was run over. I was just trying to calm my customers down and get help.”
KTLA’s Melissa Pamer, Jennifer Thang and Scott Williams contributed to this article.
