Skater runs into horse trailer, breaks leg

A 13-year-old girl, who was in-line skating at Caroline and Division streets Saturday afternoon, collided with a horse trailer and broke her leg.

Two boys who had been skating with her said she was visiting from Dayton and that she was able to give emergency workers information to contact her parents.

Zack Soulan, 15, of Carson City, said he was the first of the group heading east on Caroline to reach the intersection with Division and was able to cross in front of a pickup pulling a horse trailer northbound.

Skan Stauffer, 16, of Carson City, said he had been skating closer to the girl and, when they realized they might hit the trailer, they each began dragging one foot sideways to slow down.

"I think she must have caught a rock under her skate and then you can't brake as much," Stauffer said. He pointed out a scratch mark that started a few feet west of the stop sign on Caroline and ended in the middle of Division.

"That's from when we tried to stop. When she realized we couldn't, she grabbed me and I think her skate slipped and we both went down. Her leg ran into the trailer's tire, but I don't think it ran over her. I ran into just the back edge of the trailer."

A nurse at Washoe Medical Center, where the girl was taken by Care-Flight helicopter after the 3:50 p.m. accident, said the girl was still in surgery on her broken leg at 7:30 p.m.

Carson City Sheriff's deputies investigated the accident, but a report was not available at press time.