A Dellwood, Minn., man was charged with two misdemeanors after a friend who was skateboarding died while attempting to hitch a ride by holding onto the man's car.
Connor I. Hart, 23, was charged Friday by the St. Paul City attorney's office with reckless and careless driving.
According to the complaint: Hart was driving in St. Paul on Oct. 14, 2014, when he saw his friend, Gunnar Miller, on a skateboard near the intersection of Carroll and Prior avenues. Hart's car was stopped at a stop sign.
"[Hart] said that Miller skated up to the passenger side of his vehicle and told him he was going 'skitching,' " the charges said.
Skitching is when someone holds onto a moving vehicle while on a skateboard or skates, the complaint said.
Miller, 19, grabbed onto Hart's passenger side mirror as Hart turned southbound onto Prior Avenue from Carroll Avenue and accelerated. Miller released his grip after the turn and skateboarded south on Prior Avenue.
Miller "wiped out," the complaint said, and hit his head on the street several times.
Police responded to the scene about 1:10 p.m. and found Miller lying face down on the pavement about half a block south of Caroll Avenue. Blood pooled by his head, and he was not wearing a helmet, the charges said.
