Pro Surfer Taz “the Boneyard” Hodgkins died in a tragic car accident last Friday on his way to the Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition. The driver of a blue 2003 Toyota Carolla lost control after a tire blowout and collided head on into Hodgkins’ vehicle. When reached for comment, his mother Theresa said, “We’ve always said you’re more likely to die on the drive to the tsunami waves than surfing them.”
Hodgkins was infamous throughout the extreme sports community. He was the first man to drop in on a wave after free falling out of a helicopter. He base jumped off of the Eiffel Tower in 2006. And he fought and won the first ever man vs. polar bear wrestling match.
Friends and competitors in the various sporting communities he graced expressed concern about road safety. Fellow Pro Surfer Rob Machado remarked, “Look, there is something wrong in our society when people just accept that hundreds of people die each day on the road as the result of reckless behavior.”
