Recent Student Scooter Accident in Washington County Revives Talk of Safety

Two Dixie Middle School students were struck by a van while riding an electric scooter without wearing any helmets on Wednesday.  

Fortunately, the two girls got away with only a few bumps and bruises, but one was sent to the hospital to be medically evaluated.  

2024 has been a year full of controversy surrounding the safety of high-speed electric scooters and E-bikes. This recent incident has brought the topic back to the table after a relatively quiet few months when it comes to scooter incidents.  

Here’s what we published in April when it comes to how the police are approaching these appealing, but dangerous vehicles. 

Following two accidents involving high speed scooters and Sur-Ron bikes in Southern Utah, including one where two teens were seriously injured on the evening of April 19, The St. George Police Department posted a video to their Facebook page detailing how dangerous these scooters can be as they can reach speeds over 50 mph.  

Officer Mitchell and Sgt. Needles voiced their concern over these scooters, especially since there aren’t many streets within St. George that go over 50 mph.   

Sgt. Needles said, “Now what we’re starting to see is a trend in scooters that go upwards of 50 miles an hour. Two wheeled scooters where you’re standing on the deck going 50 miles an hour. Terrifying. We had a Sur-Ron crash last week where a gentleman cracked his head open and had to go to the hospital.”  

The two officers then moved on to the second crash which involved two teens who were reportedly driving down a street on a motorized scooter with no headlights while driving at 50 mph.   

The two teens collided with a vehicle and had to be airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Northern Utah for treatment due to the severity of their injuries.  

Both Sgt. Needles and Officer Mitchell said the accident is still under investigation as more information is still being reviewed through accident reconstruction and witness testimony.  

Sgt. Needles stated how parents should be more careful about providing their children with such dangerous potential in the form of these scooters.  

Sgt. Needles said, “For you as a parent who’s given your teenagers these scooters, it will go that fast right? Do you trust them to drive your car? You don’t because they can’t judge distance and speed. Now if you were in a car and pulled up into a 25-mile street from a stop sign, would you be able to tell that a scooter is doing 50 mph at you? I guess the other question would be if you could determine that a car’s going that fast. Yeah, I tell you probably not.”  

According to the two officers, these scooters can go that fast despite state law restricting scooters from traveling above 15 mph.   

If you’re interested to learn more, please check out the full seven-minute video on the St. George Police Department Facebook page.