Skateboard Ride Turns to Tragedy : Accident: 10-year-old Charlie Leonard was sitting on his board as he rode it out into the street, where he was hit by a car. He died almost instantly.

Chief Petty Officer David Reinhart returned to an empty house Monday evening after a few days of sea duty aboard the Lewis B. Puller, a Navy frigate, in Long Beach.

“I thought that the kids were all out at the baseball game,” the veteran sailor said Tuesday morning in reference to the Little League.

Moments later, his wife came home with the stunning news that his 10-year-old stepson, Charlie Leonard, had been killed two hours earlier in a rare skateboarding accident at Pacific and Vinevale streets.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Reinhart, 35, said, struggling to hold back the tears as he recounted the events of the previous day.

Charlie had been playing with a friend about 5:20 p.m. Monday when he sat on a skateboard and paddled himself off the sidewalk into the street, where he was struck by a car. The boy died almost instantly, said Lt. Richard J. Olson, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Alice Gannaway of Anaheim, who was driving the 1989 Ford Tempo that struck Charlie, was not cited.

“The preliminary investigation indicates the driver was not at fault,” Olson said. “That’s the way it looks at this time.”

Charlie’s death comes as several cities in Orange County are considering ordinances to restrict skateboarding, which its critics see as dangerous and a nuisance.

The Laguna Niguel City Council, for instance, was considering such a measure Tuesday night. Last month, Huntington Beach passed an ordinance to ban skateboard riding in commercial areas of the city. Thirteen other Orange county cities have skateboarding regulations.

Despite the proliferation of laws and widespread fears about the dangers, skateboarding accidents normally result in minor injuries, experts say.

Irvine pediatrician Dr. Phyllis Agran, who with two other researchers has been monitoring traffic-related injuries in Orange County for more than 10 years, said skateboarding deaths are unusual. However, over the last year, two local 19-year-olds were killed being towed on their skateboards by a car.

“Most skateboard injuries are minor--abrasions, lacerations--but every so often there’s a serious head injury or a fatality,” said Agran, who is an associate professor of pediatrics at UCI School of Medicine. It happens “more commonly when children ride in the street. And they’re not drivers. They’re not familiar with rules of the road.”

On Tuesday, Charlie’s parents were struggling to cope with the loss of their son, a likable fifth-grader who was interested in becoming a police officer when he grew up. A library book on law enforcement careers that Charlie checked out a few days ago was on the top of his dresser.

“He was such a sweetheart,” said Charlie’s mother, Gail Reinhart, 35. “He loved baseball, and he had so many friends.”

Charlie, as the stepchild of a career military man, lived in a variety of places and had little time to develop friendships before his stepfather would be transferred to a new assignment.

Since the family moved to Anaheim two years ago, when David Reinhart reported for duty at the Long Beach Naval Station, Charlie had become popular with neighborhood children and with his classmates at Esther L. Walter Elementary School.

“He was a well-liked kid in school,” Principal Steve W. Dunn said. “He will be greatly missed. He was a good kid.”

At the school, counselors were available to console his classmates, many of whom heard about the accident Tuesday morning. Upon finding out about the tragedy, Dunn said, he called the family to offer his sympathy.

David Reinhart said that he and his wife spent spent much of Monday night making telephone calls to relatives as far away as Washington, Florida and Ohio. Many of them are expected to travel to California for the funeral, Reinhart said.

By noon Tuesday, David was picking up Gail’s parents at John Wayne Airport to take them to a nearby motel. Charlie is also survived by three brothers--Matthew, 15; Michael, 13, and John, 10.

Reinhart’s shipmates, meanwhile, were pulling together to lend him financial and moral support.

“We tried to leave him alone (Tuesday morning) to let him get through this,” said Lt. Cmdr. Wayne Slaughter, executive officer of the Puller. The ship had pulled into port at 6 p.m.

A collection was being taken around the ship to help defray funeral costs, and several of Reinhart’s shipmates were planning to visit him Tuesday night.

“They’re going to see if there is anything personally we can do,” Slaughter said.

Times staff writer Lanie Jones contributed to this report.

SKATEBOARD SAFETY TIPS

* Regularly check the wheels, ball bearings, trucks, etc. on your skateboard.

* Wear protective gear--helmet, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, gloves and shoes to help prevent serious injury.

* Skateboard in parks or in areas away from cars and pedestrians. Always respect private and public property.

* Watch out for rocks, sand, cracks or loose particles that may clog your wheels.

* Do not “hitch” rides on cars, trucks or bicycles.

* Keep a safe distance from other skateboarders.

* Watch your speed. Remember, a skateboard has no brakes.

* Tricks such as “wheelies” and “helicopters” should be avoided unless you have proper training and supervision.

* Do not leave your skateboard in the driveway, yard or garage where someone could easily trip over it.

Source: Public Safety Department, Automobile Club of Southern California

Researched by: DALLAS M. JACKSON / Los Angeles Times