STOCKTON, Calif. — A local man shattered all of the bones in both of his thumbs while attempting a complicated series of moves in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game, sources familiar with the accident confirm.
“I have to admit, it was hubris,” said Jared Curtis, who agreed to give an interview from his hospital bed. “I saw my nephew and his buddies playing the Tony Hawk remake while I was visiting my sister. I used to mess around on the old sticks back in the PS2 era, so I thought I could jump right back in. I used to be able to string together huge combos like it was nothing. This time, I started button mashing on my first ollie and totally wiped out.”
Curtis’s nephew, Keith Webster, provided context regarding the lead up to the incident.
“He saw me and my friends playing Tony Hawk and was clearly trying to big-time us,” said Webster, 17. “He kept talking about how he grew up with the games and could get the Sick Score on School II in his sleep. We offered him a controller a few times, but he said no. I guess what happened is kind of our fault, because eventually my friend Brian was like, ‘It makes sense that you don’t want to try it. I bet they didn’t have reverts in your day.’ That sent Jared right over the edge.”
Ben Slater, a semi-professional pro skater player who won several regional tournaments when he was younger, said that people of all ages can enjoy the game by taking the right precautions.
“I’m in my 30s as well, and I still play every day without worrying about injuries,” said Slater, who had Goldfinger’s Superman playing on a loop in the background. “You might need to stretch a little longer before you start, or take a bit longer to fill up the old special meter, but you can still hit combos. As long as you accept the fact that you’re not going to be able to keep up with the kids in a game of H-O-R-S-E, then you should be able to play the game well into your fifties — maybe even older.”
At press time, a video of Curtis’s accident had been posted to TikTok and has received over 5 million views.
