WA skateboarder dies in fall after being pulled by golf cart, police say
A Friday night skateboarding accident killed a 20-year-old Pierce County man, who was being towed by a fast-moving golf cart while skateboarding without a helmet shortly before he fell and struck his head on Lake Tapps' Island A, officials said.
"There is no criminal component at this time," Pierce County sheriff's office spokesperson Deputy Carly Cappetto said Monday by phone. "It appears that this was a very tragic accident."
Deputies found a "very chaotic" scene when they responded at 12:11 a.m. Saturday to Island Parkway East. Between 10 and 20 people who were attending parties Friday night nearby witnessed the fall, including those who were driving or inside the golf cart involved in the accident, Cappetto said.
Witnesses told deputies Tanner Hart was on his skateboard and getting towed "pretty fast" by the golf cart. The witnesses reported seeing Hart let go of the golf cart and continue hurtling forward before one of his skateboard wheels caught on something, launching him onto the side of the road.
Hart landed on his head and sustained a life-threatening head injury, according to Cappetto.
The Pierce County medical examiner's office had not released Hart's cause of death by Monday afternoon.
Our hearts are broken," Sumner High's football program posted on X. Hart was a player at the program until 2024, according to The (Tacoma) News Tribune. "Once a Spartan, always a Spartan. Forever a brother.
Hart's death was among a series of "tragic accidents" and other incidents deputies responded to over the holiday weekend, including a travel trailer fire that killed two brothers on Friday near Roy and a man arrested Saturday in Puyallup for allegedly threatening his neighbors with a pipe bomb, Cappetto said.
Deputies responded about 2:20 p.m. Friday to a fire reported inside a travel trailer near Spanaway McKenna Highway and 312th Street South. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and found the bodies of two dogs and two men inside the trailer. The men's parents were away when the fire broke out, Cappetto said.
On Saturday, deputies responded shortly before 11 p.m. to reports of explosives near West Main and Eighth Street Southwest. Puyallup police detained a man who had allegedly threatened his neighbors with a pipe bomb and an assault rifle, according to Cappetto.
Puyallup police found what Cappetto described as the pipe bomb inside the man's home, and deputies destroyed it without damaging the property or injuring anyone. Puyallup police arrested the man on weapon- and explosive-related charges, according to Cappetto.
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM.