A teen skateboarder was struck and killed in Berkeley.

Skateboard fatality: An 18-year-old skateboarder died Wednesday after being struck by a Prius in a dangerous intersection in Berkeley on Monday night.

•   An 18-year-old skateboarder was hit by a Prius in a dark, dangerous intersection.

•   He suffered a severe head injury and died two days later.

•   Under California law, skateboarders are considered pedestrians.

The accident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday, according to a report in Berkeley’s Daily Californian.

Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said Tyler DeMartini, who lived in Berkeley and attended at El Cerrito High School, was riding his skateboard westbound on Marin Avenue at the time of the accident.

DeMartini was crossing Tulare Avenue when an eastbound Prius, driven by a 54-year-old Berkeley man,  turned left onto Tulare Avenue and struck the teen skateboarder. Police did not say how fast the Prius was traveling or whether it was within the posted speed limit.

DeMartini, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a severe head injury. He was rushed to the Level II emergency/trauma center at Highland Hospital in Oakland in critical condition. He died in the hospital on Wednesday.

The Berkeley Police Department called in a special team to investigate the fatal accident, Kusmiss told the El Cerrito Patch  news site.

“Due to the seriousness of the collision, BPD’s FAIT (Fatal Accident Investigation Team) was called in to take over the investigation,” Kusmiss said. “The FAIT team, members of BPD’s Traffic Bureau, investigates serious and fatal collisions and have extensive training in many disciplines related to collision, diagramming and reconstruction. It is too early in the investigation of this collision to determine the PCF — Primary Collision Factor — which is assigned to a party and in most cases attributes fault to the party.”

After the preliminary investigation police said DeMartini would likely be faulted because skateboarders are supposed to use the sidewalk instead of the street, according to the Daily Cal report. Under California law, skateboarders are deemed pedestrians.

“No pedestrian may walk upon any roadway outside of a business or residence district otherwise than close to his or her left-hand edge of the roadway,” the police press release stated, citing part of the California Vehicle Code.

But many neighbors say the intersection at Marin and Tulare avenues is extremely dangerous to pedestrians, skateboarders, and bicyclists due to a combination of factors: It is very dark and poorly lighted, cars speed over the limit, and it is a blind turn.

The Berkeley Patch news site reported:

“Even with traffic calming measures, cars still speed,” said Marcy Greenhut on the Berkeley Patch Facebook page.

Mary Nicely added that she lives three doors down from the intersection and never crosses there, no matter what time of day. “People drive too fast and it is dark as hell at night,” she said, adding that she has complained to the Berkeley Public Works Department about the lack of lighting — to no avail.

Krista Miller, who lives on Tulare Avenue, says that she and her two children have caused two fender benders crossing the intersection in the past six months. Speeding cars were too close to one another or speeding, she says, and therefore unprepared to stop.

Miller’s husband, Ryan Smith, says that he spoke to the Berkeley Police Department about the dangers of the intersection and was told to take the matter to the city council.

The news site included a video to illustrate the problems:

Berkeley Skateboard Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorneyClifford Blackman, have successfully represented skateboard/pedestrian accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.