Although the Injuryboard website had initially reported that a young boy had been killed by a car because of Heelys shoes, it now appears that those facts may be in dispute. According to the police in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, twelve-year old Ryan Carmichael was crossing the street to get the mail at the time of the accident. He turned around, and was struck by a car coming toward him.
Officials say that the sixth grader was wearing his Heelys shoes at the time of the accident, but contend that the popular in-line skate shoe played no role in his death.
The resulting furor that erupted over the young boy’s death was apparently owed to an inflammatory statement released by the attending physician who treated the boy before he died.
In it, Dr. Abdel Hammo urged parents to “stop buying [Heelys] for their kids. A small rock or stone under these shoes – the balance will be lost 100 percent and they will fall on their back and they will hurt the back.”
This distinction is important, because this death was widely reported in the media, erroneously, as is turns out.