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Pro Skateboarder Dies In The South Bay

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Oct 25, 2005 11:42 pm US/Pacific

Pro Skateboarder Dies In The South Bay

(CBS 5 / AP)

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A professional skateboarder died after he fell while skating in one of the large bowls at a local park.

Eric Costello, 34, also a popular skateboarding instructor, was demonstrating a maneuver to a class around noon Saturday when he fell in the skating bowl, which is 10-to-12 feet deep, authorities said.

Costello, who was wearing a helmet at the time, either did not properly secure the strap on his own helmet or was wearing one that did not fit, said Scotts Valley Police Chief Steve Lind. The helmet came off during the fall, causing massive head injury.

He lost consciousness shortly after the accident and was flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, where he died Monday.

Robert Erwin, a local skate shop owner, said many of Costello's students and peers in the skating community wanted to find a way to memorialize him.

"He's definitely a large member of this community," Erwin said. "And if I could tell you one thing about Eric, it's that he was all about the kids, and he was pretty responsible for growing this sport in Scotts Valley."

Mayor Paul Marigonda's two sons were among dozens of children who took lessons from Costello. "He had such a great attitude and he was so good with the kids," he said.

The accident is the first death at the 20,000-square-foot Skypark, which opened last September.