Mates rally to bring body home
Sam Skipper will be buried under the mountain and with his skateboard.
The 24-year-old Taranaki man died on Saturday in Brisbane. He was struck by a taxi after falling on to a busy street near Suncorp Stadium, Australian media reported.
Sam’s older sister Alicia Skipper said her brother had only planned to be Brisbane for the weekend.
While he grew up in Taranaki, he moved to Melbourne a year ago to live.
His skateboard got lost in transit on the way to Brisbane but after days of emailing back and forth they managed to find it so Sam could be buried with it in the family cemetery today.
Sam was known as a talented musician and skateboarder, with a carefree spirit and wry smile, Skipper said.
‘‘He was one of those people who could just pick up a guitar and played it until he got it. Same with skateboarding - he started when he was young and wasn’t that good but just kept going at it.’’
‘‘It’s such a tragedy - he had his whole life ahead of him.’’
Sam and her partner Uriah were like brothers and had a relationship where Sam would tell him things that he couldn’t tell his big sister. Having Sam around in Melbourne made her feel closer to home and closer to family, she said.
‘‘I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get back [to Melbourne] with him not there.’’
He was incredibly loved by his workmates - who let it slide when he skateboarded into work late - and also by his friends both back home in Taranaki and in Aust- ralia, she said. It was no wonder, then, why it took just three days for Sam’s friends and family to raise close to $12,000 to bring his body home.
Within three days, $11,900 had been raised and he was brought home to his family on Thursday.
‘‘Everyone just really loved him - I don’t know how else to say it - he had so much support and so many friends. He was the type of guy who gave unconditional love and never judged you.’’
He was cheeky, but quiet, and would remove himself from confrontation rather than get into an argument with someone, Skipper said.
Following the news of Sam’s death, his friends took to social media to pay tribute, sharing videos and photos of ’’Skip’s’’ life.
One friend commented on how much everyone’s donations had meant: ‘‘I’m finding some happiness that this many people would give this much to help Sam’s family at this tragic time.
‘‘He was such a beautiful person and I can’t think of a better way to show them how much their son touched the world.’’
He was described as ‘‘a bit of a goof’’ but also loyal, kind and the one who put a smile on others’ faces.
One friend went as far as to create a vinyl sticker which people could put on their skateboards to remember Sam.
Brisbane police said alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
The taxi driver was assisting police and the Forensic Crash Unit was brought in to investigate what had happened.
Reports were that several offduty doctors and nurses who were at a nearby hen party rushed to the scene to help.
He was also treated by paramedics but died at the scene.