They strapped on skates Monday to escape the sadness. The adrenaline rush of speed, flight and possible danger embraced them like an old friend.

It made them feel alive.

The teens at Woodward Skateparks at Discover Mills in Lawrenceville know that bumps, bruises and occasional broken bones are the price they pay for the thrill of extreme skating.

But death was unfamiliar to most of them —- until they lost one of their own.

On Monday, more than a dozen skaters arrived at Woodward before opening hours to mourn the death of Joshua Waggoner, 17, who fell on his head while performing a freestyle stunt without a helmet.

Waggoner, a senior at Faith Academy in Buford, had dreams of becoming a professional skater. His funeral was Monday at Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula.

For Mike Harper, 14, of Roswell, Waggoner's service was his first funeral. A youth pastor was on hand at Woodward for support.

"He was the kind of guy that made you smile," Harper, a semi-professional skater with Blue Wallace Skate Shop, said sadly in between tricks. "He will be missed."

Skaters at Woodward and most skate parks are required to wear helmets, but many teens routinely skate outdoors without head gear.

As news of Waggoner's funeral spread on the Internet and in the metro Atlanta skating community, some teens said they would make a commitment to wearing helmets.

"Everyone is talking about it," Harper said. "Kids from Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama have said they were going to start wearing their helmets. ... If I don't wear my helmet, my sponsors have told me I will be kicked off the team."

Some of Waggoner's close friends left their skates and bandanas behind to be buried with him.

They said the death reminded them that even though they push the limits, they are not invincible.

"He died a solider's death —- doing something he loved," said J.C. Morris, a senior at Collins Hill High School who wore a bandana in Waggoner's honor. Morris said he will be wearing his helmet more often. "It's not about cool; it's about safety."

Friends say that Waggoner was performing a trick called the royale —- a maneuver performed on a rail —- last Wednesday when he lost his balance, fell and suffered severe brain damage.

After his funeral, a group of students visited the site of the accident, a staircase outside the AMC Colonial 18 theater in Lawrenceville, to restore a makeshift memorial in Waggoner's honor that had been taken down.

Friends tied bandanas to the rail and remembered him with fresh flowers and messages scrawled on the steps that read: "Rol4life"; "I wish this were just a horrible dream ..."; and "I didn't know you, but you changed my life." A wooden cross bearing Waggoner's name is planted at the foot of the stairs.

A group of 35 skaters gathered at Woodward and another metro Atlanta skate park over the weekend to make a video tribute for Waggoner, which includes some of his favorite tricks. It is posted on YouTube.

A formal event celebrating his life will be planned later at Woodward.