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Home arrow Connect arrow Parkour Investigated in Teen's Death
Parkour Investigated in Teen's Death Print E-mail
Tuesday, 03 November 2009
 

American News We are sad to report that a Sacramento teen suffered a fatal fall from an 8 story parking garage. We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends.  News reports have stated that "Parkour is being Investigated" as a possible cause. We want to remind evereyone that safety and progression are ingrained in Parkour training and there is never any reason to practice that high up, it is dangerous and doesn't aid your training in any way. Every parkour community stresses the importance of eliminating risky behavior. If you need a reminder, you should read our "What is Parkour" definition that discusses the importance of safety. You can also read about the right way to get started with parkour in our "Getting Started" section.

You can read the story here, or comment in the American Parkour thread or the San Francisco Parkour thread. San Francisco Parkour asks everyone not to contact the media about this and to give the grieving family the space they need. The death of a teenager is always tragedy, so let's avoid making this more painful for the family.

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Display 29 of 29 comments

1. 11-03-2009 06:17

I feel so bad for him, but am angered by the news. They always bash us for accidents cause by irresponsible people. Pretty soon I'll be told not to do parkour by random people on the streets. Please everyone, practice carefully!

2. 11-03-2009 07:07

I agree. There is nothing gained by practicing that high up. Yeah, the building looks appealing for practicing on, but it's just not responsible. We need to show the community that we're more than daredevils.

3. 11-03-2009 07:26

I can not agree more, if this keeps up ppl are going to frown upon Parkour and Freerunning. What this guys did was not responsible at all. Safety is always and should always be the number 1 concern, there is no reason for distance that high, one can practice and develop all kinds of moves right on the ground level, without the risk of death. I feel sad, but come on! Why is the news always hittin on us in a negative way! Parkour has done so much good in my life such as helping me cope with many problems, but this is just not right!

4. 11-03-2009 07:41

Not show that we are more than daredevils... show we are nowhere near daredevils. Parkour is a discipline and is quite the opposite of risky or reckless behavior. 
 
And I think part of showing respect for the family would be not bashing their son?

5. 11-03-2009 08:52

I hate how everytime someone falls off of some and hurts themselves, they blame parkour. Why can't they accept that some people just weren't careful?

6. 11-03-2009 08:54

Everybody, this is why we need to remind people that want to try parkour to try it safely and to not go off of what a tv show showed them. I can guarantee that this is from someone watching the "Ultimate Parkour Challenge" or the Freerunning championships and the kid tried it without knowing the correct safety procedures and decided to try it on an 8 story parking garage. So please help new traceurs find the correct ways to practice before we hear another story like this.

7. 11-03-2009 09:27

...I just watched the news report on it. Taking into account that media does sometimes put words into people's mouths, I am angered that anyone would say that Parkour is lethal. When did the word parkour mean anything other than 'be strong to be useful' or 'strong mind, strong body'. Parkour is and has always been about being fully capable and safe in every situation. There is NO reason to be that high up, ever. TRAIN on the ground so that in that situation, you can be capable. GRRRR!

8. 11-03-2009 09:42

Honestly, I don't think we have enough information to judge the kid. We don't if he was a casual practitioner or fairly experianced. We don't know why he was up there in the first place. Remember Naoki? He was an experianced traceur climbing in a tree and he happened to fall and get seriously injured. Would we be saying he was irresponsible if he happened to die?

9. 11-03-2009 09:46

it's a really horrible thing that happened :sigh

10. 11-03-2009 09:58

Well, its a real shame that this happened and unfortunately the news didn't try to do much in terms of really explaining parkour. 
 
let's not forget the good parkour does for people, for example - http://www.kcra.com/news/ 21503335/detail.html

11. 11-03-2009 10:05

you don't blame cars for crashes, or guns for murders...... you blame the drivers and murderers. 
 
So People shouldn't Blame Parkour.

12. 11-03-2009 11:01

"I can guarantee that this is from someone watching the "Ultimate Parkour Challenge" or the Freerunning championships and the kid tried it without knowing the correct safety procedures..." - rbinger 
 
No, actually, you can't. You don't know anything about this kid. If you read the SFPK thread, you'll see that he'd been out to several of their events. I've been to SF and seen how they teach, and they stress safety more than many other communities I've seen. This kid was around before those shows aired so don't guarantee what you can't actually guarantee.

13. 11-03-2009 11:32

It's always so sad when any type of injury or death occurs, and I'd like to make sure that nobody, including myself, says anything implicating the family or the boy that died. But I am angry about the portrayal in that video report. That was some of the most blatantly sensationalist, downright horrible one-sided reporting I have seen in my life. Whenever the word "parkour" was even said, it was kind of spat out like something unclean. Parkour has been in the news before, but this is a new low for the media, especially since they're taking advantage of a young boy 
s death to excite more anger.

14. 11-03-2009 11:33

We don't even know if this kid was practicing parkour when he was killed. It was probably a freak accident with no one, not even the victim to blame. I simply state that not all the variables are known and any explanation can be applied with decent accuracy.(even aliens for all we know) 
-Hastor

15. 11-03-2009 11:53

I'm very sad to hear abot this. I am also sad to see the portrayal of parkour in this report. The woman in the car absolutley gets on my nerves. "it's terrifying that kids think that they can do this and not get hurt and die..." I think that was close to what she said. I think it is terrible when people think that parkour is just a complete disregard for ones own safety and it is only about the "thrill seeking". Every day people die from accidents with guns, guns, and just about everything. Why dont we look negatively on driving cars every day? This report was absolutely outrageous.

16. 11-03-2009 13:19

My sympathy to the family in their time of grief. Burying a child is a horrible ordeal. From what I've seen the world lost a bright light in a tragic accident.

17. 11-03-2009 13:28

You Can trip and fall and die.. Anything can kill you, and it really agravates me when they present parkour this way..  
 
It doesn't take 16 people to say the same thing, so im not going to say anything thats been said already. But the part where the news reporter says "I think a lot of parents will go home and talk to their kids about this" really pisses me off. I think if that news team saw a training video from the pics and vids column of this forum, it would change their minds a little bit.

18. 11-03-2009 13:49

is there a place to go to see the news video?

19. 11-03-2009 13:59

tragic, but frustrating. i know how hard we work every day to give parkour a good rep.  
 
one step forward, 2 back. please everyone, train responsably 
 
-Temecula Parkour

20. 11-03-2009 14:01

oh wait i found it my bad... thats horrible, i feel so sorry for the family who lost him... they made it sound like it was gang related or something whats up with that? as if parkour is something that if you do it you join in on the guns and violence... like parkour is a drug and if you take it you die...

21. 11-03-2009 14:16

First of all, my deepest sympathies to the family. It's a terrible thing to lose someone in the prime of his life, and it's terrible to see a traceur die. 
 
Please everyone, let's refrain from making any judgments about Kenny. Not only because we don't know how he died, but because it's too soon, too hurtful to his loved ones, too callous. 
 
Yes, we feel slighted by the media just looking to create controversy to get ratings, but it's really not about us, it's about Kenny. There is a time and place for anger, and a time and place for compassion. This is the time for compassion.

22. 11-03-2009 14:49

i feel bad for the kids but parkour should not be trained on roof tops i at times feel like even David belle is and idiot for doing it so much but at least he knows he has been doing this for a long time and he knows the dangers so do not think parkour is about danger or adrenaline it about being peaceful with your mind and using your body in safe ways most people for got how to.

23. 11-04-2009 01:10

I feel you Lad. My condolences to the guy 
 
and for the media mess...If PK has taught me anything it's that we learn to overcome any obstacle, this is just another one.

24. 11-04-2009 03:02

i have like four months running time and honestly i think what this kid did was irresponcable and his death could have been prevented, as for the media they dont have to bash us because of some dumb mistake someone elts made i can see how this can lead to a bann of parkour in most areas in th u.s

25. 11-04-2009 05:45

this is just like the kid who got his hands blown off by fireworks. They blame fireworks, not the mother and father for letting him get a hold of them, not the kid, they blame the fireworks. I mean, I feel bad for the kid an all, but even though I am just starting out, I know I would never practice on an 8 story parking garage. The mom and dad could stick up for the kid too, its called bein a good parent. Poor kid. too bad his friend does't do parkour, then he would understand that it wasn't parkour's fault.

26. 11-04-2009 16:24

This was not the kid's fault. I agree that what he was doing was not responsible, but somebody should have been around FORCING into this kid's head that he was not ready. It is great that we have communities that spotlight safety but I honestly don't think it's enough.  
 
A lot of these kids get into this just watching sensationalized shows and videos that do not showcase the discipline, energy and strength NEEDS to go into doing these things.  
 
If this kid had worked more on his grip training, climbing strength and had more SAFE experience climbing, this may not have happened.

27. 11-04-2009 16:48

http://www.pkcali.com/ parkour_plugins/forum/ forum_viewtopic.php? 56641.0#post_56721

28. 11-05-2009 15:24

what he did was not responsible but if you think about it, we're thrill seekers :/ dont get me wrong, I believe safety is the most important part of parkour and dangerous heights should never be practiced, but non of us would be here if we were afraid to think outside the box and try something new and different. The media is made of ordinary people (as is the general public) who are afraid of what we do and dont understand it. many people may think professional wrestling is stupid and dangerous, but its probably well planned and practiced, as is parkour. People just wont understand it.

29. 11-08-2009 09:16

The media knows nothing about parkour to just make it the reason for his death.I am sad for the family and the kid, but he shouldn't be up that high in the first place.They need to get more info on parkour and under stand what it is about before they can just kill it.It is a discipline where not doing stunts.I get mad when people don't get the whole story and every thing about it :( .They probly just found out about parkour and found it as the only reason for his death.It was his fault for A:Being up that high and B:Not being careful. It drives me crazy. Be careful and give pk a good rep. :upset

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