An 11-year-old boy who was hit by a car while skateboarding Wednesday in South Portland was in Maine Medical Center late Wednesday night with life-threatening injuries.

South Portland police Lt. Tom Simonds said the boy, whose name is not being released yet, was skateboarding on Palmer Street and entering its intersection with Elm Street in the Turner Island neighborhood when he was hit by a four-door compact Toyota. The boy was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Portland.

Simonds said the driver of the car had just left work and had not gone very far when the accident happened, around 4:30 p.m. The driver, whose name is not being released yet, contacted police. “He has been fully cooperative,” Simonds said.

Simonds said the investigation could take a while. There were several witnesses, but it remained unclear late Wednesday whether the car hit the boy first or the boy hit the car’s right front fender. The boy was unconscious when emergency workers arrived.

His grandmother was notified by police, but Simonds said he was not sure where the boy lives.

The Gorham Police Department’s accident reconstruction team was called in to investigate.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com