Police warn about dangers of 'skitching'

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is warning teens about the dangers of snow 'skitching.'

'Skitching' is an illegal and dangerous act where people ride a snowboard, skis or sled while being pulled by a car.

"Pulling someone from behind your vehicle, you never know what's going to happen, you don't have control over it," said Sergeant Lori Bronner with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

There are hundreds of videos on YouTube, including one that went viral in New York City during the January blizzard.

In the video, a snowboarder being pulled by a jeep navigates the streets of Manhattan, inches from cars, and even the NYPD.

After our snowstorm Tuesday, Colorado teens took to YouTube to post their own videos. One called "snowboarding the neighborhoods," another "snowboarding Colorado's streets."

In one of the videos you can see the snowboarders pass both moving and parked cars.

While it may look fun, Sgt. Bronner said there are real risks involved.

"Not only is it not safe, it's also against Colorado state law," she said.

If you're caught, the driver and person being pulled can both be ticketed.

"You're not allowed to hang outside the vehicle in anyway because it is dangerous," said Sgt. Bronner.

A parent caught pulling their kid can even face misdemeanor child abuse charges.

If someone gets hurt the charges can go up all the way up to vehicular homicide.

Last year, in Colorado Springs a man was killed when his sled slammed into a parked car. The driver in that case was charged with vehicular assault.

"Think of the risk that you're putting yourself up to for five minutes of fun," said Sgt. Bronner.

On Tuesday, Douglas County said they received reports of someone pulling young kids on sleds from a car - but officers weren't able to catch them in the act.