Electric scooters have started to appear on sidewalks in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. However, some of the busiest parts of these cities saw the black electric scooters from Bird disappear almost as fast as they showed up. That’s because Norfolk officials started to crack down on the scooters as soon as they heard about their arrival.
City spokeswoman Lori Crouch said the following in an email to The Virginian-Pilot, “‘Popped up’ is a great way to describe this. Bird did not communicate, coordinate or provide any notice before dropping scooters in Norfolk.”
According to Crouch, city employees and police have been working to round up the scooters and will store them somewhere until they can reach Bird.
Andria McClellan, a member of City Council, tweeted about the arrival of the scooters, saying “Whether or not @NorfolkVA allows them in the future, this in-the-middle-of-the-night approach is totally unacceptable and does not make me inclined to support this company.”
The scooters were left by the company on busy Virginia Beach street corners and outside of convention centers and hotels.
Bird launched last September in in Los Angeles and has received harsh criticism from city governments across the nation due to the company’s ask-forgiveness-rather-than-permission approach to rolling out their product. After Bird scooters showed up in Charleston, S.C., the city issued a cease-and-desist order that threatened to impound the scooters.
Electric Scooter Fatality
Recently, a 24-year-old man died in an accident involving an electric scooter. Jacoby Stoneking was riding an electric scooter in Dallas, Texas when he fell and suffered an injury to his foot. Stoneking asked a friend of his to call a Lyft to pick him up, but when the driver showed up, he found the injured man unresponsive.
According to a police statement, “Responding officers observed scrapes and bruising to the injured person's hands and lower extremities.” The statement also notes that officers “found a Lime Scooter that was broken in half up against the curb” about 500 feet from where Stoneking was found. Aside from parts of the scooter, no other debris was found.
Stoneking was taken to Baylor University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. However, Dallas County medical examiners have yet to determine a cause of death. If it is determined that Stoneking's death was a result of injuries sustained while riding the scooter, it would likely be the first scooter-related death since electric scooters started showing up in cities across the country.
Speaking about the injury risks associated with electric scooters, Sam Torbati, medical director of the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said “An electric scooter is pretty much a moped, just a little slower. People seem to feel safe since it looks like a recreational tool, but it comes with the potential for serious injury.”
Get Help From Our Accident Attorneys
Have you suffered a serious injury that was caused by an electric scooter accident? If so, you should immediately consult with our personal injury lawyers to determine if you are eligible for compensation. We are committed to helping clients in Alexandria protect their rights and we will do all that we can to hold the negligent party responsible for the injuries you sustained. Let us put our skills to work for you today.
Call (571) 290-2390 to set up your case evaluation with our legal team in Alexandria.