Story Archive

Wrong-Way Corrigan

An unnamed man was getting ready to go kiteboarding at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Calif. Kiteboarding involves holding a parafoil kite while surfing in the ocean. “He was down by the water getting his stuff ready with his girlfriend, but there was just too much wind. It picked him up and took him toward the road,” witness Steve Sutherland said. “He bounced a couple times, and then I lost sight of him, but whatever happened after that it wasn’t good.” It wasn’t: the man was tossed onto the highway, where he was hit by a car. He was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Cort Larned, kiteboarder and two-time world champion windsurfer, said most accidents like this happen when inexperienced kiteboarders pull on the kite during a powerful gust instead of pushing it. “Normally you wear a harness, attached with a hook around your navel, which allows you to pull the kite. If you get in a bad situation, you release the bar,” Larned said. “If a person pulls down when they should let out, then you massively power the kite and it can lift.” (MS/San Francisco Chronicle) ...Wonder if he had the same problem with doors.