'They become projectiles': Macomb County Sheriff warns against car surfing social media trend after 3 hurt

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - At least three young people in Macomb County have been hurt recently while car surfing, a dangerous social media trend where people ride on top of vehicles.

According to Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, deputies first responded to reports of this trend when a juvenile fell from the roof of a Kia Optima in a parking lot at 59041 Gratiot Ave. in New Haven on June 21. They suffered a head laceration and multiple abrasions.

The sheriff's office said the driver, also a juvenile, said it would be fun to drive around with a friend on the roof of the vehicle. The driver was charged with reckless driving.

Another juvenile suffered a skull fracture and a brain bleed on July 19 at Iroquois Middle School after falling off a Ford Escape in the parking lot. They are currently listed as stable. The juvenile who was driving was charged with operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and reckless driving. 

A few days later, on July 21, a juvenile fell from a 2017 Dodge Challenger at Romeo High School and suffered injuries to his head and ear. The juvenile driver was charged with reckless driving. 

"The MCSO takes these incidents of "car surfing" very seriously," Wickersham said. "These participants do not seem to realize that they become projectiles, hitting cement or asphalt at 30-50 miles an hour. No matter what condition these individuals are in, their bodies are just not designed to take that much trauma."

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