Woman Dies of Injury From Fall While Skating

An in-line skater who crashed and struck her head on the pavement in Newport Beach earlier this week has died, officials said Thursday.

Karen K. Udell, 33, of Newport Beach was injured shortly after noon Monday as she skated down a hill on Jamboree Road and fell trying to turn onto Bayside Drive, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said.

“It’s a fairly steep hill,” he said. “She recognized she was going too fast and was trying to drag her toe to brake, but it didn’t work.”

She lost control and fell into the westbound lanes of traffic on Bayside, striking her head, McDermott said.

Drivers of oncoming vehicles managed to avoid her, and several stopped to help until paramedics arrived to take her to a hospital, he said.

Surgery to try to save her life was not successful, he said, and Udell died at 8:06 p.m. Wednesday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

She was not wearing a helmet or any other protective gear, McDermott said, and was skating alone. The death was ruled an accident.