Teen Remains In Hospital After Kiteboarding Accident In Huntington Beach
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Just before Justin Harrison launched his kite on the sand to kiteboard in Huntington Beach late Tuesday afternoon, his friend, Ryan Warde, said he had a bad feeling.
Warde recorded his friend on Snapchat and said he was scared for him.
Minutes later, "I realize he was in big trouble when he started going up the berm," Warde said.
He watched in horror as gusts up to 35 mph swept the teen off the sand and slammed him onto Pacific Coast Highway during rush hour.
"It basically started dragging him on his face, then he started dragging on his back," Warded added.
A barbed-wire fence finally stopped him. The teen's father, Josh Harrison, said his son broke an arm and an ankle and has serious road rash.
He realized it could have been much worse. "I'm just really glad that no cars were coming from this direction or they would have been going 70 miles an hour, and he would have been killed for sure," the elder Harrison said.
A sophomore at the Air Force Academy, Harrison is an experienced surfer, Newport Beach lifeguard and water polo player.
His father said this was his second time out kiteboarding, and Tuesday's powerful winds were more than he bargained for. "He's a big, muscular, heavy guy, but not for this amount of wind."
Justin remains in Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana.