LORAIN — A man being videotaped by friends as he jumped from the rooftops of downtown buildings nearly plummeted 40 feet when he landed on the glass skylight of Lorain National Bank.

The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, and police learned about it when a bank employee called for help — saying she heard a loud crash from the roof and thought someone was breaking into the bank.

The employee told police two men were standing outside the bank and one had a video camera. Two other men, she said, were seen climbing down from the bank’s roof.

The four took off running, but police rounded them all up within a short time.

That’s when police learned the four — ages 15 to 24 — met near the Black River Landing with the intent of jumping various structures for entertainment, according to police.

Angel Cardona jumped from an adjacent building onto the roof of Lorain National Bank in downtown Lorain and crashed partially through a skylight Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a 40-foot-drop into the bank’s lobby below.

Their actions sounded similar to “Le Parkour” — an activity that originated in Europe in which practitioners run, jump, climb and roll along rooftops or practically anything else in an urban environment, according to www.urbandictionary.com. Lorain police Sgt. Mark Carpentiere couldn’t say whether that’s what the group was trying to do.

The man who hit the skylight, Angel Cardona, 24, of Lorain, told police he thought the skylight was cement as he was leaping from roof to roof. He went feet-first through it but stopped himself before falling through onto the floor of the bank lobby 40 feet below, he said.

His 16-year-old friend who was on the roof with him pulled him out of the skylight to safety, police said.

Cardona suffered scratches to his chin and right arm, the report said.

Cardona was charged with criminal damaging and criminal trespassing. His 16-year-old friend was issued juvenile charges for criminal trespassing. The two others — ages 15 and 23 — were released without being charged.

The damage to the skylight cover and several panes of glass was estimated at $1,000.

A Lorain National Bank spokesman declined to comment about the incident, citing security reasons.

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.