Gulf Shores High School students are mourning the death of a student.

Hunter Sorensen, 14, a Gulf Shores High School freshman, died Sunday after he fell from a skateboard onto a street and was hit by a vehicle in Orange Beach, officials said.

Hunter's friends are using social media to express their thoughts about his passing.

The accident happened at 2:22 p.m. Sunday after Hunter came down an elevated ramp at a parking garage at Escapes condominiums, 24060 Perdido Beach Blvd.

Orange Beach Police Chief Billy Wilkins Sr. said he learned from firefighters that Hunter was wearing safety equipment, but he did not say what kind.

Hunter Sorensen

"From all indications, he was a very responsible young man," Wilkins said.

Another skateboarder was with Hunter when the accident happened. He was not hurt.

The parking garage's ramp leads to Perdido Beach Boulevard. The edge of the road is marked as a biking path.

As Hunter came down the ramp, he built up a substantial amount of speed, crossed the biking path and went onto the road, officials said.

He tried to turn left after coming down the ramp, Baldwin County Coroner Stan Vinson said.

"When he turned, he lost his balance or something," Vinson said. "He fell out into the eastbound lanes of the highway and was struck by a vehicle."

Wilkins said the skateboarders had been stopping at the biking path before the accident.

Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.

The driver, whose identity was not released, was not given a ticket.

"From all indications, the driver was obeying all traffic laws," Wilkins said.

Students concerned about Hunter's family

Counselors were made available for students today at Gulf Shores High School.

Principal Ernie Rosado said he asked students to gather in the gym this morning to let them know that there were people at the school to help them deal with Hunter's death.

Rosado said some students spoke during the assembly, and their main concern was what could they do for Hunter's family.

"We have a lot of things planned," Rosado said. "I don't know which one will come to fruition, but a lot of kids have been coming with up ideas to help the family. That's what we are here for is to help them."

Rosado said after he dismissed the students, many of them stayed in the gym for more than an hour.

Some of the students spoke with counselors. Others gathered in a large circle and prayed and talked, trying to help each other through the tragedy.

"I hadn't seen that in a long time," Rosado said. "They all came around on the floor and was just thinking of the family. That was amazing to see, kids doing things for themselves there."

No skateboard park in Orange Beach

The chief said skateboarding is popular among some children in Orange Beach.

"You see them out and about on sidewalks and on private property sometimes where they shouldn't be," Wilkins said. "We have to ask them to leave and be careful. It's no more of a problem here than what it might be some other places."

Wilkins suggested that skateboarders in Orange Beach use sidewalks or marked paths. He said the safest thing to do would be to go to a skateboarding park.

Orange Beach does not have a skateboarding park. There are skateboarding parks in other Baldwin county communities — Gulf Shores, Fairhope, Foley and Bay Minette.

"You wouldn't want to ride a bicycle in the middle of a busy street," Wilkins said. "A skateboard is probably much less safer than a bicycle in the middle of a public street.