Car Surfing in Crystal Lake Leads to Critical Injuries, Criminal Charges

Young adults tend to engage in high-risk activities. There's even scientific research to back up that belief. A closer look at the brains of young adults reveals that their frontal lobes, which help keep risky behavior in check, do not fully develop until several years later. But there's a very fine line between risk-taking and dangerous - and many young adults don't figure out the difference until it's too late.

That's why a 20-year old Hoffman Estates man is fighting for his life today. The man was engaged in what is known as "car surfing" - when a person stands on the top, hood, or trunk of a moving vehicle. In fact, the victim was actually jumping from the exterior of one moving vehicle to another in a Wal-Mart parking lot on Route 31 in the northwest Illinois community of Crystal Lake.

According to police, the man was "riding" on the tops and hoods of a 2002 Dodge Caravan and a 2000 Dodge Neon before he fell from a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. All of the vehicles were performing dangerous maneuvers while the man was car surfing. When the victim fell, he hit his head on the concrete surface of the parking lot. He was taken to McHenry's Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center.

All of the drivers of the vehicles were arrested and charged with reckless driving and other crimes. They include a 19-year old Schaumburg man, an 18-year old Crystal Lake woman, and a 17-year old girl from Crystal Lake.

Based on the unusual circumstances behind the Hoffman Estates man's injuries, it is unclear whether he has any grounds for a personal injury lawsuit against any or all of the teenaged drivers. The fact that he was engaged in the obviously dangerous activity of car surfing may mean that he was primarily responsible for his injuries as opposed to anyone driving the vehicles.