Teen snowboarder paralyzed during practice run
BEND, Ore. (AP) - A 14-year-old boy preparing for a national snowboarding championship during his first season of competition is now paralyzed from the neck down.
Tyler Eklund fell during a practice run for the USA Snowboard Association National Championships at Northstar at Tahoe resort.
The eighth-grader from Bend slid smoothly through the turns, landed his jumps and nailed his tricks Sunday.
His coach, Hans Hibbard, and teammates watched him ride all the way down the run but they could not see what happened next.
Tyler apparently was heading toward the chairlift when his board caught an edge in softening snow. Hibbard says Tyler must have fallen quickly and hard.
Hibbard says it is still unknown whether Tyler will be able to breathe without the aid of a machine.
Students at Bend's High Desert Middle School were signing a banner with words of encouragement for Tyler.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)