GRANITE FALLS, N.C.,None — Adrenaline junkies are going to new and sometimes dangerous extremes in the Carolinas.
Street luging was born in southern California when skateboarders discovered they could reach much faster speeds by lying down on their boards. It gained a larger following after ESPN featured it in the 1990s.
Now, it's making a big comeback among local teenagers.
Chason Tell, 16, said he's new to the sport and made his own board after finding a design online. Eyewitness News watched Tell on a recent run near Granite Falls, during which he reached a speed of nearly 25 mph.
"(It was) fast," he said. "Pretty fun -- nothing but adrenaline."
But the sport can be deadly. In 2008, a man died in Kansas City when he went off the road and slammed into a tree.
Tell said he recognizes the dangers and wears a leather jacket and helmet. His foster dad, Thomas Zielske, acknowledges the danger, but still lets him partake in the sport.
"You know, how many of you put your kids in a car and watch them drive out the driveway? You get butterflies with that, too," Zielske said. "They have to be able to find something to do to get rid of their energy."
First Sgt. Gary McClelland with the North Carolina Highway Patrol said he's not a supporter of street luge.
"It's crazy," he said. "I think it is extremely dangerous."
There are currently no laws against the sport, but McClelland said that doesn't mean he would ignore it.
"We can ask them to leave because the roadway is not designed for that purpose," he said. "If they don't leave, we could charge them with trespassing or something of that nature."
But Tell said he doesn't plan on stopping, adding that he takes precautions and hasn't fallen yet.
"I'm hoping to go pro," he said. "This is my life right now."
WSOC
