Watch The Wording

Japan Today had a story the other day on the tragic death of a professional skateboarder. He was trying to slide down a five story bannister and only managed one floor before falling free to his death.

But look at how they word it:

He fell about 15 meters and was hit on the head when he landed on the first floor, according to the police.

What? Someone ran up and smacked him on the head? The floor hit him? He fell and smacked his head. The passive construction, endemic in Japanese I admit, here used makes for a strange image indeed.