Deadly e-scooter crash in DC prompts safety concerns as injuries rise
WASHINGTON - The death of a Washington, D.C., government official in a collision Friday has intensified questions about the safety of motorized scooters as injuries and fatalities linked to the devices continue to rise nationwide.
What we know:
Talib Shakir, 50, the director of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs, was killed around 7 p.m. Friday when two e-scooters collided near the Eastern Market Metro station at 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast.
Shakir, whose work focused on helping individuals leaving incarceration reintegrate into society, died in the crash. A woman riding the other scooter was injured. Neither rider was wearing a helmet.
READ MORE | DC city official Talib Shakir killed after 2 electric scooters collide in Southeast
The fatal incident remains under investigation, and officials have not yet determined who was at fault or how the collision occurred.
E-scooter safety concerns
E-scooters have become increasingly present in major cities and on college campuses, and can often be found parked along curbs or docked at designated stations. However, the surge in their use has corresponded with a sharp rise in serious accidents.
According to a recent survey from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 80,000 people in the United States are injured each year riding e-scooters, up from just over 10,000 reported injuries in 2017.
Medical experts monitoring the trend note that safety practices have failed to keep pace with the technology.
"I think they’re fantastic. I think for the environment, for life, for convenience, I actually think they’re like a wonderful invention, but we need to incorporate them into our lives in a way that is safe. And I don’t think we’ve done that," said Dr. Joanna Cohen of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore.
The collision in Southeast D.C. is part of a string of recent severe accidents across the region.
On Saturday night, nearly 24 hours after Shakir’s death, an e-scooter rider suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car near the intersection of Connecticut and Knowles avenues in Kensington.
In July, a 9-year-old boy riding an e-scooter without a helmet was killed in Herndon after colliding with a minivan in his neighborhood.
According to Dr. Cohen, children account for 20% of all e-scooter injuries, and statistically, boys and men make up the majority of those hurt. She emphasized that the lack of protective gear is the primary contributor to severe outcomes.
"I don’t think we’ve gotten into the culture of wearing helmets when we’re riding these devices. It’s just not part of our culture. People don’t walk around with helmets, you know," Dr. Cohen said. "And I think we have gotten into a habit of encouraging people to wear bike helmets when they go for a bike ride or ride their bike to work. But this same isn’t being applied to e-bikes and e-scooters, even though they’re much faster, much heavier. And much more powerful than regular bicycles. So the injuries are more severe."
The Source: Information in this article is from Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.