Fifteen-year-old girl - who suffered head injury on in-line skates - dies

A fifteen-year-old girl who suffered a serious head injury on in-line skates in the area of the East Moravian of Ostrava last week has died in hospital. The girl fell while going down a hill. She had not been wearing a helmet and had to undergo emergency surgery. Doctors say that the summer months see an average of 10 - 12 serious falls among youths or children on in-line skates, bike, or even on horseback in the Czech Republic. They stress that the chance of severe injury would be greatly lessoned by wearing a protective helmet. Under Czech law in-line skaters are classified as "pedestrians", meaning they are not required to wear the protective gear.