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A 12-year-old schoolboy has died after colliding with a bus while riding his electric scooter.
The tragedy took place just before 8am this morning, in Belchers Lane, Birmingham, while the boy was heading to school.
Emergency services were scrambled to the crash site, closing the road off during rush hour.
But despite the efforts of paramedics, the boy – who has not been named – was pronounced dead at the scene, becoming the latest person in the UK to die while riding an e-scooter.
Announcing the news this afternoon, West Midlands Police said: ‘A boy has sadly died after a collision involving a bus in Birmingham today.
Belchers Lane in Birmingham where a 12-year-old schoolboy has died after colliding with a bus while riding his e-scooter
‘The 12-year-old is believed to have been riding an e-scooter when he collided with a bus on Bordesley Green, near to the junction with Belchers Lane, just before 8am.’
The statement added: ‘He was sadly confirmed dead at the scene. The road remains closed this afternoon while our investigators work to establish what happened.
‘The youngster’s family has been told, and are being supported by specially trained officers.’
Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, of the force’s serious collision investigation unit, said: ‘This is an awful tragedy for the young boy’s family and friends, and our thoughts are with them at this time.
‘We’ve spoken to a number of witnesses, but still want to hear from any of the passengers on the bus who we’ve not yet spoken to, or from people who may have captured what happened on dashcam.
‘If people do have footage, we’d ask them not to share it on social media but to send it to us so that we can help establish exactly what happened.”
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance said it sent two ambulances and two paramedic officers to the scene.
‘He had sustained life threatening injuries and was in a critical condition,’ the spokesman said.
‘Unfortunately, it became clear that nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed deceased at the scene.’
Moore’s conviction comes as the number of deaths from e-scooter accidents tripled in a year with crashes also rising 28 per cent over the 12 month period
In 2019, Channel 4 and YouTube star Emily Hartridge (pictured) was killed in what was believed to be Britain’s first fatal electric scooter accident
Nobody on the bus required treatment.
The youngster’s death comes as Britain faces a sharp rise in the number of people killed during e-scooter crashes, with the number of fatal collisions tripling in a year.
Stats show that in the year to June there were 12 deaths involving e-scooters and a whooping 1,349 crashes.
This compares to four deaths the year before as well as 978 crashes – a significantly less number. Some 11 of the 12 deaths were e-scooter users while one was a pedestrian.
In 2019, Channel 4 and YouTube star Emily Hartridge was killed in what was believed to be Britain’s first fatal electric scooter accident.
The 35-year-old slammed into a lorry while riding an e-scooter near her home in Battersea, south London.
In July, a three-year-old toddler was left with ‘life-changing’ injuries after being mown down by a young man on an e-scooter.
The smash took place while the little girl was out walking in Myatt’s Field Park, Lambeth, in south London.
The Metropolitan Police said the male stopped to say sorry. But the toddler’s condition later deteriorated and she was rushed to hospital.
It prompted an appeal by detectives for the man to hand himself in and ‘do the right thing’, with the Met saying the child’s injuries were ‘life-changing’.
In the same month, 80-year-old grandmother Sarah Carter was left with a broken wrist, a cracked jaw and cheekbone after she was knocked to the ground by an e-scooter.
Sarah Carter, 80, suffered a broken wrist, a cracked cheekbone and jaw after being struck by an e-scooter in Canterbury, Kent
She labelled the e-scooters ‘lethal’ and branded the council ‘irresponsible’ for the lack of infrastructure put in place.
After her accident, she said: ‘Another elderly person could have quite easily been even more seriously injured or even killed.’
And in August, a woman in Hull was left with a fractured skull after being hit by an e-scooter while she was riding down a one-way street on her bike.
Such is the danger of electric scooters, bosses at Transport for London (TfL) banned them in December 2021, after one exploded on a packed tube.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at Parsons Green underground station, with one passenger suffering smoke inhalation.
It was one of many close calls which caused TfL to launch an urgent review, supported by evidence from the Brigade’s experts.
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