Photo and report by Rob ClementAt approximately 7:55 p.m. on Tuesday, 16-year-old James "Max" Dickenson of Meiners Oaks was on a skateboard on Verano Drive as it crossed Cuyama Road and was struck by an eastbound GMC Yukon driven by a 32-year-old Ojai woman. Dickenson sustained multiple major injuries and was taken by Ojai Life Line paramedics to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital, where, according to Sr. Deputy Jim Popp, he was stabilized before being transported to the Ventura County Medical Center's intensive care unit. The investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.
15 comments:
A flashlight would have been a good thing to have but a helmet and even one knee pad would have allowed him or her to slide to a stop and control the crash i hope the kid is OK always good when the person is not killed or any permanent damage keep it slow keep it safe
Max is one of my son's best friends. This is the second serious skateboard accident he has had in as many years. I pray that he pulls out of this one.
Lights, kneepads, helmet, don't know if any of that stuff could have helped him (well maybe the light?).
I raised my son skating, scootering and bikeing on the local roadways. Every time before we set out together I would explain to him once again that he should recognize the fact that probably nobody sees him on the road, and he will be hard pressed to evade danger. Now when he goes out on his own before I give him my blessing I query," so what are you?"... his response is "I'm invisible". I always remind him not to do nothin hairball or stupid. He is 16 too and I have to let him venture out on his own, but the freedom was doled out a little @ a time as he proved his responsibility.
So parents, remember that your kids are "invisible" and get that drilled into their heads. Make sure they understand that most drivers do not see them, or have an adequate response time to evade hitting them. Defensive drivers training starts @ an early age.
hope he is doing ok best wishes. Does any family or friends have any updates?
My parents told me the same thing but a few more street lights would help also some sidewalks. All the time i see especially after school gets out drivers young and old haulen a$$ not stopping or even watching where they are going i had an old driver honking not just a tap laying on that horn when even the pedestrian i stopped for flipped him off a young driver swerved around me and almost hit the person trying to cross most people see the crosswalk or stop sign and understand the reason for stopping just most people don't care unless its your little brother or sister,son,daughter that gets hit distracted drivers or drivers in a big hurry don't care!!! Not enough experience to understand the consequences of not paying attention for even a second
"Would of, could of, should of" a child from Ojai is in the hospital from a really bad car accident. I can't tell you how many times I skateboarded at night in the evening as a teen because I didn't have a car.
A group of local Ojai residents & parents would like to help Max and his family during this hard time.
If anyone knows how to get a hold of his parents I would love to call them and see what they need.
Please call me at: 805-216-6996 or my email address:
rylander405@sbcglobal.net.
Thanks,
Sunday
Thanks for all the concerns and offers for help. This is the skateboarder's Dad. Firstly, the OVN article was rather misleading. The 911 call came in at 7:45-or-so, not 8:30. It may be dusk-y, but it is hardly "night" at our latitudes on August 26 at this time. Secondly, the injured, Max, has been unconsious until today, August 29 and is still unable to speak. He is off the ventilator, breathing on his own, and has been transfered out of the ICU. Thank God, his brain and spinal function appear normal. His Mom and I have received amazing amounts of offers for help. We are fortunate to have good insurance, but a portion of his medical bills will not be covered. We are considering setting up a fund for those that wish to help financially. If we do, any funds remaining after all insurance settlements could be returned to the doner or transferred to the Ojai Skate Park fund. Thanks again, and we'll keep you posted.
John Dickenson
Thanks for the information. I am glad to hear that Max is improving. His teachers (current and past at Nordhoff) have commented on what a nice kid he is.
Becky Beckett
By "insurance settlements" I SURE hope you do not mean the insurance of the poor person with whom he collided. It sure sounds like she had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time!
Hope your son makes a full recovery.
I do not see where the OVN said the 911 call came in at 8:30. It makes reference to 7:55.
DAD Thank You for the update, It sounds like he will make a full recovery. He should be able to talk in 5-7 days after the venalator comes out they are pretty harsh on the throat.
The initial report we posted did incorrectly state the accident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. It was corrected after official information was provided by Sr. Deputy Jim Popp, the accident investigator on this case.
"the OVN article was rather misleading."
Why does that not surprise me? The OVN isn't really known for accurate reporting.
Is anyone thinking of the woman who drove the SUV? I agree with the blogger who said she was at teh wrong place at the wrong time. Max is doing better, and I am so glad. I am glad people are concerned about him. I love teen-agers, but I sure wish people would consider the woman who drove the car, which by the way, did not "hit him." Did you talk to the witnesses? They all said the boy hit her car. Either way, no one seems to give a rip about her. She must be feeling pretty bad about this. Hmmm...let's have some compassion for her!
I too am so very glad the young man seems to be on the road to recovery. Thank God. His parents are so very lucky to be able to look forward to having their son in their lives still.
The second comment in this thread mentioned this is the second bad "accident" this young man has been involved in. I hope they all see to it that this is the last such incident. I would think he is drawing pretty heavily on his stash of luck.
However, I do find his father's mention of funds from insurance settlements, as well as his trying to set the stage as to what the light situation was at the time of the incident, a little disturbing and distasteful. From the information that has been provided, it would appear as though the young man was charging down Verano and straight across Cuyama on a course that would cause him to meet up with vehicle that "he collided with," making it seem as though it is pretty much his fault. If it were someone in an automobile doing exactly the same thing he did, there would be no question, and the woman in the car that was hit would be the one talking about funds received from insurance settlements.
I think the family should just ever so thankful they have their son alive, in something other than a vegetative state, suck it up and handle the out of pocket expenses without resorting to "insurance settlements." The poor woman involved probably has a pretty good case against you!
I agree that the woman who was driving the vehicle should be thought of as well. It can be emotionally traumatizing to be involved in an accident where someone is injured -- whether they're at fault or not. My thoughts go out to the boy, his family, and the woman and her family. I wish people weren't so quick to seek blame. The resulting grief from an accident where there's an injury is enough punishment for any driver, especially one who may not have been at fault. I wish her well and hope that she's okay emotionally. Accidents and traumas happen. They always have, and always will. Its how (and if) we grow from them that's important.
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