Cops: Hofstra University student serious after skateboard accident

A 20-year-old Hofstra University student was hospitalized in serious condition after he suffered a fractured skull in a skateboarding accident on an elevated campus footbridge late Sunday in Hempstead, police said.

The unidentified student was riding his skateboard across a footbridge on Hempstead Turnpike at 11:26 p.m. when he hit the stairway’s protective railing, “causing him to flip over and fall approximately 30 feet to the bottom,” police said.

The student was transported to a hospital in serious condition, police said.

In a statement released Monday, Hofstra said: “We are focused on supporting the family and friends of our student with the full resources of the University. The thoughts of the Hofstra community are with them at this difficult time.”

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”