A 15-year-old boy was taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition after coming off his skateboard while riding down Newport Hill on Sunday night.
NSW Police and NSW Ambulance were called to Barrenjoey Road, Newport, just before 10.45pm on 19 July, after the teenager fell from his board near the hill. Responders found him about 100 metres north of Beaconsfield Street, with a group of male and female friends nearby.
According to the young man’s friends, he had attempted to ride down the steep Newport Hill descent on a skateboard but lost control — a phenomenon colloquially known as “death wobbles” — and was thrown from the board. He fell backwards, striking the back of his head on the road surface. His friends said he was unresponsive for between 15 and 20 seconds before they moved him off the road to safety.
His friends had already contacted Triple Zero (000) and notified his family. His father was at the scene by the time paramedics arrived and assessed his son.
While the boy was conscious and able to speak coherently to paramedics, he could not recall anything about the incident. He had grazes along his back and a contusion to the back of his head, and paramedics held concerns that he may have sustained a closed head injury. As a precaution, he was carefully placed into the ambulance — despite there being no obvious signs of spinal injury — and transported to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick shortly after 11.00pm.
It is understood the teenager and his friends had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident, and he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the fall.
While helmets are not legally required for skateboarders in NSW, Transport for NSW strongly recommends wearing one, along with knee and elbow pads. The department’s guidance notes that skateboards cannot be used on roads with a dividing line, median strip, or a speed limit greater than 50km/h. Barrenjoey Road at Newport widens to a multi-lane divided carriageway — meaning skateboarding on the road there would appear to fall outside what is permitted under NSW road rules.
Under Rule 240 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW), courts can impose a maximum penalty of $2,200 for travelling on a wheeled recreational device on a road with a dividing line or median strip, or one where the speed limit exceeds 50km/h.
For those looking for a safer alternative, Northern Beaches Council operates several skate parks across the region, including at Avalon Beach on Barrenjoey Road, and at Mona Vale on Pittwater Road.
Published 23-July-2026
