Boy, 5, needed stitches for ugly gash in face after electric scooter driver hit him

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES An electric scooter driver left a five year old boy with a nasty facial injury after illegally using the transport gadget in a pedestrian area in Grimsby, Lincolnshire

A young boy needed stitches for a nasty facial injury after he was shot down by an illegal electric scooter.

Hugo Tasker, five, was run over by a man riding an electric scooter in a pedestrianized area in Grimsby, requiring him to be hospitalized.

Since the transportation gadget hit the market a few years ago, three passengers have died in fatal crashes. There are currently no reports of pedestrians killed in an electric scooter incident, according to Hull Live.

But Humberside Police and Safer Roads Humber used Hugo’s case to show people how dangerous contraptions can be and that driving them in public spaces could get you in trouble with the law as well.

Westminster has toyed with the idea of ​​legalizing motorized devices, with trials taking place in cities across the UK, but currently private scooters are only allowed on private land with the permission of the landowner .

A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: ‘On Monday 27 December, on Victoria Street in Grimsby, a five-year-old boy was struck by an electric scooter which was reportedly driven by a man in a pedestrian area.

“Fortunately, he is now recovering at home, but he suffered injuries to his face and legs and had to be hospitalized.

“This young boy was badly shaken and injured and we want to prevent anyone from suffering similar or worse injuries.

“Parents, if you bought an electric scooter for your child at Christmas, make sure he or she is following the law.

“Be aware that private scooters are limited to use only on private land with permission from the landowner.

“It is illegal to use a private electric scooter on sidewalks, cycle paths or roads.”

In the Humberside area, there have been five fatalities in road traffic incidents involving an electric scooter in the latest data up to June 2021, with that number expected to increase with the popularity of the vehicles.

The government also believes that non-fatal victims of electric scooter users are “among the most likely to be underreported in traffic accident data, as they have no obligation to notify police of crashes. “.

Overall, there were 931 fatalities in accidents involving electric scooters in the year up to June, of which 732 were electric scooter users, the government estimates there were 253 seriously injured and 675 minor injuries.

Men make up 81% of all electric motorcycle victims, with the highest percentage of victims between the ages of 10 and 29.

More than 50% of all reported incidents took place in London, with Humberside accounting for just 0.5% of cases nationwide.

Safer Roads Humber continues to remind people of the law surrounding the use of electric scooters, they said, “Although you can legally buy an electric scooter, it is illegal to ride your own scooter on the road, the bike path, or on the trail. sidewalk .

“If they are stopped by the police, they could seize the electric scooter and you could get a fine and points on your driver’s license.”

There has been at least one case where an expensive scooter has been seized and scrapped in East Yorkshire after the biker was caught in public this year.

The man was riding his scooter near the Tesco in Beverley in October when he was pulled over by officers and asked to provide proof of insurance for his vehicle.

He had only had the scooter for a few weeks and said he was unaware of the legislation on driving them.