A 16-year-old Hawaii Kai skateboarder was fatally injured Wednesday on the street near his house after latching onto his friend’s moped and hitching a ride.

Neighbors identified the skateboarder as Reid Krucky, a Kaiser High School sophomore, who lived on Kalanipuu Street.

Police Detective Lugene Simeona said the skateboarder grabbed onto his friend’s moped and traveled about 30 yards before he fell and struck the pavement.

He was taken by ambulance in critical condition with head injuries to the Queen’s Medical Center, and later died, authorities said.

The 16-year-old Hawaii Kai boy who was riding the moped did not commit any crime, Simeona said, adding it was not his intention to tow his friend.

"He thought the friend would let go, but he didn’t," she said. The moped rider had a permit and was of age, she said.

Emergency Medical Services said the accident occurred at 3:30 p.m. fronting 748 Kalanipuu St.

Resident Carole Pajari said she talked to the boy on the moped.

"That poor, poor boy," she said. "My heart just bleeds for him. It could have been him as easily as the other boy."

Pajari also praised roofers who were working on her neighbors’ roof at the time. Two of them are also firefighters, and performed CPR on the boy.

One of the two roofers, who asked not to be named, said he saw the boy on the moped going down the street, then turned around.

That’s when he saw the other boy on the ground.

He and his fellow firefighter got down from the roof and found the boy wasn’t breathing but had a pulse. They braced the boy’s neck, and the other firefighter began chest compressions until EMS arrived.

Sierra Bassett, 12, who lives across the street, said of the boy who was killed, "He’s a really nice kid. … We always played basketball. He taught me how to shoot."

When they were younger, she said, "he played with me and my brother," who is about the same age. "How are we going to tell him?"

Bassett’s grandmother, Carolyn Ohashi, said, "We’ve known him since he was a child."

She recalled him playing at their house when he was younger. "He was a little rascal, but he was a good kid."