Car-surfing kills second young man in a month second

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Car-surfing kills second young man in a month
Hundreds have died across North America since stunt became Hollywood staple



METRO VANCOUVER - The grieving mother of a young man killed “car-surfing” in Coquitlam is speaking out about the dangers of the stunt.

“It was a stupid thing to do,” said Eronne Ward.

Jordan Ward, 21, suffered a catastrophic head injury after toppling from the roof of a moving car last Wednesday.

He died of his injuries on Friday night.

Ward’s death is the second car-surfing tragedy in B.C. in recent weeks, and one of hundreds that have occurred in North America since the stunt was featured in the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie, Teen Wolf.

On June 11, Kelowna resident Jody Rud was killed car-surfing while celebrating his 25th birthday by riding on the roof of a car driven by a friend.

Rud died after the driver lost control and veered down an embankment. The unidentified driver was reportedly a close friend, and will be facing charges in court.

The dangerous pastime has been glorified in the Jackass movie series, the Grand Theft Auto video games, in which players can car surf virtually while committing crimes, and in dozens of amateur YouTube clips.

The Journal of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics links car-surfing fatalities with depictions on film and television and in games. The study shows car-surfing injuries and fatalities spike whenever there is another depiction in popular media.

The journal reports that 100 per cent of patients who were injured car-surfing suffered from serious head trauma.

Speed is not a prerequisite for severe injury, said the report.

The physics of momentum keep the body in motion after the vehicle comes to a stop, and causes the body to be thrown from the car, with the weight of the head causing it to hit the ground first.

Acceleration, bumps or swerving even at low speeds are extremely dangerous when someone is trying to balance on the vehicle.

Ward said her older son, David, 24, was in the back seat, and tried to talk Jordan out of the stunt, but the tragedy happened in a matter of seconds.

“He climbed out the window of the car, climbed on to the hood and fell,” said Eronne Ward.

The accident occurred just half a block from her house, and Ward reached the scene almost immediately.

“We didn’t know how bad it was, but he had suffered critical brain damage at the scene.”

Ward said she believes the car was being driven by a young woman her son had recently met.

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Coquitlam RCMP could not comment on whether charges will be laid in the incident, but an investigation is underway.

Coquitlam Staff Sgt. Dale Hockley said the lesson is simple: “Don’t do it. It is so unsafe. [Human beings] are not made for it. Vehicles are not made for it.”

The devastated mother described her son as a happy young man who loved his friends and his work as a cement finisher.

Now all she wants is a sincere, face-to-face apology from the driver.

Ward said that after the accident, the family wanted to donate Jordan’s organs, but was shocked to discover he was not a registered organ donor. Registering was something the family had talked about.

Getting the go-ahead to donate her son’s organs was complicated even more by the police investigation into his death, she said. “The coroner wanted his body for an autopsy.”

An autopsy would have rendered her son’s organs non-viable for transplant.

“A police investigation should not take precedence over saving lives,” said Ward.

On Friday night, after her son had been declared brain-dead, Ward was able to work with a BC Transplant representative and the B.C. coroner to allow her son’s organs to be released for transplant.

Ward said she hopes to encourage more people to register as organ donors.

About 800,000 B.C. residents are registered donors, but only about one per cent of those will qualify, after death, as donors.

“There is a chronic shortage of organs available throughout North America,” said Transplant BC communications representative Allison Colina.

To register online as an organ donor, go to transplant.bc.ca



Errone Ward holds a photo of her son Jordan in Coquitlam on July 10, 2011. The mother is speaking out after Jordan died in a car-surfing accident over the weekend.