A man who was riding an electric rental scooter in D.C. died on Friday morning after colliding with an SUV at the Dupont Circle area. Earlier this month, a scooter rider was killed in Texas, the first such death in the country.
A cyclist, who had arrived on the spot soon after the crash, tweeted that he found “the scooter, a headphone and one brown shoe” at the scene, adding that “though this is beyond a simple injury that could be prevented by protective gear, be extra careful on scooters, helmets must be mandatory.”
It was not known if the victim, who was riding the Lime Brand Scooter, was wearing a helmet or any other safety gear.
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A spokesman from the San Francisco-based scooter company told BBC that it is “deeply saddened by the death and that our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and loved ones. We have offered our full support to local authorities in connection with the investigation.”
Scooter companies like Lime, Bird, and Skip have been introducing their dock-free rental scooters since the past year. The scooters are increasingly being used by the commuters as more than 65000 such scooters are currently on the streets in the U.S.
“An electric scooter is pretty much a moped, just a little slower. It makes me real anxious when I see someone with ear buds and a cup of coffee riding without a helmet on the sidewalk,” Sam Torbati, the medical director of a hospital emergency room in Los Angeles, told the Post.