Teen skateboarder who died in Auckland park named

A 17-year-old died at the Victoria Park Skate Plaza on Sunday. His uncle said he fell from one of the ramps. (File photo)
Photo: Stuff / David White

The teenager who died after an incident at a central Auckland skate park has been named as Vela Langa’oi.

Langa’oi, 17, was visiting his family in Auckland on holiday from Australia when he died after a skating incident on Sunday night.

His uncle said at the time he had fallen from one of the ramps at Victoria Park Skate Plaza.

His death has been referred to the coroner.

A GoFundMe page has now been started for his parents to take his body home for a funeral.

In 21 hours, more than $4000 had been raised, intended for Langa’oi’s grandmother to distribute to her daughter, the boy’s mother.

“The family are suffering with the grief of losing Vela whilst trying to make arrangements to go to New Zealand,” the page said.

“The world as they know it has been shattered for this beautiful family and will never be the same again … This is the most awful thing to ever have to endure.”

On Monday morning, Langa’oi’s family gathered at the park to mourn.

His uncle said he had been driving his nephew and children home on Sunday night when they stopped at the park for a quick skate.

They’d only been there a few minutes when the teenager somehow fell off one of the ramps, crashing onto the concrete, he said.

“I tried to revive him with CPR before the ambulance came, it felt like forever, but it must have been quick,” he said.

Langa’oi was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died the same night.

Skaters who frequent the Victoria Park Skate Plaza said there have been calls for more lighting at the park, but neighbours had been saying no.

Pro skater and Def fashion label founder Chey Ataria was on the advisory board for the skate plaza project when it was built back in 2011.

“We were campaigning to get lights right from the start and went to a few meetings with the council and surrounding neighbours,” he said.

“There was pushback on the lights because neighbours thought people would be skating late at night and it would bring riff-raff and crime, but I would think it would have had the opposite effect.”

However, Auckland Council’s acting general manager parks & community facilities Martin van Jaarsveld said lighting was “not a simple solution”.

“While lighting has been suggested and considered over the years … it, too, can be accompanied by perverse outcomes, like antisocial behaviour and personal safety issues, and does not necessarily create a safe skating environment.”

Van Jaarsveld said several residential buildings overlooked the park and skaters had ample time to use the park in the summer during daylight hours.

* This story originally appeared on Stuff.