An elderly woman walking across a Capitola Village crosswalk died when a skateboarder came barreling down a hill and smashed into her, according to police.
Maryanne Slettehaugh, 83, was hit by a skateboarder who was traveling 20 miles per hour, Capitola police Sgt. Andrew Dally said. Slettehaugh died from her injuries.
The 17-year-old was rolling down a steep hill at 3:11 p.m. on Cliff Drive towards the Stockton Avenue bridge.
Slettehaugh was on her daily walk through the Capitola Village neighborhood.
"It was her daily routine. She lived just two or three blocks away," Dally said.
The skateboarder tried to jump off his board but he collided with Slettehaugh, Dally said. She was knocked unconscious after she landed hard on the pavement.
The teen, who police did not identify, immediately stopped and stayed with the 83-year-old woman. Slettehaugh was airlifted to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center's trauma center with serious injuries.
She died just before midnight, Dally said.
Skateboarding in Capitola Village is illegal. The teenager was not arrested and his parents were alerted, police said.
"It was not a malicious type of act. He seemed like a pretty clean-cut and honest kid," Dally said. "But we prohibit skateboarding in Capitola Village for this exact reason."
There is a free skate park within the City of Capitola in Jose Park on Jose Avenue.
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