Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

Man Dies In Hit-And-Run Crash After Falling Off E-Scooter In Santa Monica

E-scooters in L.A. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Just over a week after CNN reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating electric scooter-related injuries, a man was struck and killed after falling off a privately owned e-scooter in Santa Monica.

According to the Santa Monica Police Department, officers received a call at 8:30 p.m. on March 15 to the 2700 block of 3rd Street--near 3rd and Hill--where a 41-year-old man was hit by a car after tumbling from the scooter and into the road. It's not clear how he fell, how badly he was injured in the fall or how long he was in the road before being hit.

The man succumbed to his injuries later at a nearby hospital.

Support for LAist comes from

The victim's name hasn't been released yet. The driver of the car allegedly stopped and got out of his vehicle after hitting the man, then got back in and drove off.

Despite the vehicles' ubiquity, riders in L.A. continue to rack up injuries. A study released in January looked at medical records from two UCLA hospitals and found that over the course of one year, 249 people showed up at their emergency rooms with e-scooter related injuries.

The CDC investigation is focusing on Austin for now, where they are reportedly examining medical records from a two-month period. Texas has seen at least one scooter-related death, and, like many cities and states around the country, a spike in scooter-related injuries.


Correction: The headline on an earlier version of this story was incomplete and incorrect. It has been updated to accurately reflect the crime that allegedly took place. LAist regrets the error.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that this was the second death involving a scooter. In fact, the first death involved a mini bike, which was initially reported to police as a scooter. The incorrect information has been removed. LAist regrets the error.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist