Salt Lake child on skateboard hit by car

SALT LAKE CITY — A 5-year-old boy riding a skateboard on his back was hospitalized Tuesday after being hit by a car.

The accident happened about 12:30 p.m. near 1200 East and 1000 South. A boy was riding a skateboard down the sidewalk on his back. He was wearing a helmet, and his grandmother was nearby, said Salt Lake police spokesman Dennis McGowan.

The boy was coming down a slight slope when a car pulled out in front of him. The boy went under the car and was struck by one of the tires, breaking the boy's leg, McGowan said.

The car that hit him was pulling into a parking lot. The driver was actually a neighbor of the boy and couldn't see the child because his vision was blocked by another vehicle and because the boy was low to the ground, McGowan said.

The boy was taken to a local hospital in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable condition.

— Pat Reavy