SEATTLE — A man riding a Lime scooter without a helmet was hit and killed in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood Tuesday morning.
The fatal crash comes amid a dramatic surge in e-bike and scooter injuries treated by local trauma doctors.
Harborview Medical Center treated 29 patients for e-bike or scooter injuries with zero deaths in 2020. Last year, the hospital treated 252 patients and recorded six deaths.
Police reported that the teenage driver who struck the scooter rider in Greenwood was not impaired and cooperated with investigators at the scene.
Officer Shane Weatherford of the Seattle Police Department said responding to e-bike and scooter collisions has become an increasingly frequent part of his job.
“Probably, I don’t know, 30 or so,” Weatherford said when asked about the number of scooter crashes he has handled.
Dr. Sam Arbabi serves as the chief of trauma at Harborview Medical Center. Arbabi noted that while the overall popularity of e-bikes and motorized scooters has grown, medical providers are seeing far more severe trauma cases resulting from collisions.
“But we are talking about severity has gone up. Major injuries that are life-changing at times,” Arbabi said.
He added that riders frequently suffer severe abdominal trauma during high-impact crashes.
“Some of the most difficult injuries that we deal with, pancreatic injuries or bowel injuries, come from this,” Arbabi said.
Arbabi emphasized that the emotional impact of these incidents extends well beyond the physical harm suffered by patients.
“The pain in the family’s eyes, especially when there is a child. Especially when you bought the e-bike or scooter, is so much,” Arbabi said.
He noted that the frequency and severity of these injuries take a toll on hospital staff as well. “And I can tell you that battle-scarred ICU nurses here that are some of the best in the world and have seen a lot, they come, and they cry so much when they see this,” Arbabi said.
Wearing a helmet while riding an e-bike or scooter is not legally mandated in Seattle.
The helmet mandate was repealed by the King County Board of Health following a study showing that a majority of citations were issued to people of color and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Both the Seattle Police Department and King County currently recommend wearing head protection, a precaution trauma doctors strongly urge riders to follow.
“Helmets, appropriate helmets, will help,” Arbabi said.
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