Douglas County Sheriff's Office warning against car surfing trend, which it says has already killed a teen

After several traffic incidents where passengers were reported to be hanging out of the window or sunroof of a vehicle, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office wants to get the word out about a troubling new trend.  

Traffic investigators with the sheriff's office say they don't exactly know what has led to an increase in "car surfing" incidents, often involving teens, but they know there have been far too many for it to be a coincidence at this point.  

"For Douglas County, this trend is rather new. It's something we haven't dealt with before," said Sgt. Jeff Burke, supervisor of the traffic and motorcycle enforcement unit. "We're still trying to figure out what's driving the thrill seeking." 

Since April, Burke's team has responded to six different "car surfing" incidents on Douglas County roads. In one, a deputy spotted two teens sitting atop the sunroof while a car drove down C-470. In another, a driver spotted a teen hanging out the window of a car in Highlands Ranch and reported it to the sheriff's office.  

"It's distracting to the driver to have people hanging out the car, it's distracting to other drivers, so there's the potential for crashes to occur," Burke said.  

Of the six calls, Burke said at least two have resulted in citations, but in early May, one incident on Quarry Road became the worst-case scenario. 

In that case, a 16-year-old died after sustaining serious injuries in a rollover crash, investigators said. Witnesses later reported passengers were hanging out the back windows before the vehicle lost control.  

"They're way too young to have to experience things like that, and there's nothing we can do to reverse that or bring that child back," Burke said.  

Now, Burke and his team are asking families to have conversations about safety and the rules of the road. in these cases, the passenger can be cited and fined, but the driver can face criminal charges, like reckless driving. 

"They have the power to bring the vehicle to a stop and cease the dangerous behavior," Burke said. "No matter what the passengers are doing, they're the ones still electing to drive."  

Investigators still don't know if peer pressure or social media is to blame but say only drivers can stop the trend.  

"I've seen enough fatal crashes in my time that I could do without seeing another one at all, especially with something that's so preventable," he said.  

According to the sheriff's office, all but one of these car surfing incidents have involved teens. The other one involved adults in their 20s.