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.

Special

Inline skater Joshua Waggoner died of a head injury.

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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 one dozen skaters came before opening hours to Woodward to mourn the death of Joshua Waggoner, 17, who fell on his head while performing a free-style 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. He died Wednesday.

For Mike Harper, 14, of Roswell, Waggoner's service was his first funeral. A youth pastor came to Woodward to lend his support.

"He was the kind of guy that made you smile," Harper, a semiprofessional 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, Tennesse 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 bandannas behind to be buried with him. They said the death reminded then that even though they push the limits, they are not invincible.

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

After his funeral, a group of students came to the site of the accident, a staircase leading to the AMC Colonial 18 theater in Lawrenceville to restore a make-shift memorial in Waggoner's honor that had been taken down. Friends tied bandannas 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 area skate park over the weekend to do 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.