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Skatepark memorializing Yorba Linda teen is dedicated, opened

by in News

Katie Wells, was sure her son, Logan Wells, was smiling down on his family and friends as they gathered on Saturday, Feb. 23, to dedicate an Anaheim skatepark to his memory.

Logan was 16 when he was struck by a van and killed while skateboarding in Yorba Linda, where he lived, in 2014. He loved skateboarding and had once started a petition to get a park built, so his loved ones thought following through on his goal would be a fitting way to remember him.

  • Skateboarders try out the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A skateboarder gets some air at the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  • Hundreds of friends, family and supporters attend the opening of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Taylor Arroway of Placentia tries out the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Katie Wells, mother of Logan Wells, speaks at the ribbon cutting of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019, just prior to its opening. The park was built in memory of Logan Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Hundreds of friends, family and supporters attend the opening of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Joe Wells, father of Logan Wells, speaks at the ribbon cutting of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019, just prior to its opening. The park was built in memory of Logan Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A plaque at the front of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Justin Ladner of Orange makes his way across the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A skateboarder gets some air at the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Skateboarders wait for the dedication and opening of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Skateboarders try out the new Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim, moments after it opened on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Caps at the opening of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Hundreds of friends, family and supporters attend the opening of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A skateboarder makes his way across the sidewalk in front of the Logan Wells Memorial Skatepark, adjacent to the East Anaheim Gymnasium, in Anaheim on Saturday, February 23, 2019, just prior to its dedication and opening. The park was built in memory of Wells, who died after being hit by a car while skateboarding in 2014. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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They raised $190,000 in donations to create a 5,000-square-foot park next to the East Anaheim Gymnasium on land donated by the city. It took 11 concrete pours over two months of construction, Katie Wells said in a Thursday phone interview, and she was there for every one.

Wells documented the process of building her son’s park, and she’s shared it on social media with family and Logan’s large circle of friends, who she said can’t wait to try it out.

They got the chance on Saturday after a dedication ceremony, when Katie Wells expected to be coaxed onto a skateboard too.

But whether visitors can do a flawless kickflip or have never heard of an ollie, she hopes the park will be a peaceful place that recalls her photography-loving, joke-making, skateboarding son for years to come.

“It’ll be there for kids who didn’t even know him,” Katie Wells said. “It’s the best thing we could have done.”