A young teen is fighting for life in hospital after crashing his e-scooter into an oncoming car at a busy intersection.
The boy, 13, is in a critical condition with ‘very serious head trauma’ following the crash in Alexandra Headland on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Tuesday night.
Initial reports indicates the boy was riding an e-scooter with a girl, also 13 riding as a passenger eastbound along George Street when they collided into a silver Suzuki Vitara wagon travelling travelling north along Mayfield Street.
The female motorist and multiple bystanders performed first aid on the teens at the scene while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.
A boy is in a critical condition after his e-scooter collided with an ongoing car at a busy Alexandra Headland intersection. Pictured are paramedics at the scene
The Mountain Creek boy was airlifted by LifeFlight to Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital.
The girl also suffered serious injuries and was transported by road ambulance to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
The Suzuki Vitara motorist, 34, wasn’t injured.
Matheus Castro was heading home when he came across the crash scene in his street.
‘There was a middle-age man directing the traffic and there were people laying on the sidewalk, right on the sidewalk or right next to it and I could see one pair of shoes at the top of George St,’ he told The Courier Mail.
He has lived in the area for two years and expressed concerns about increasing levels of local traffic.
It’s against the law to carry a passenger on an e-scooter.
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Witnesses and anyone with dashcam vision of the crash or the moments leading up to it are urged to come forward.
LifeFlight (pictured on Tuesday night) airlifted the boy to Queensland Children’s Hospital
Hundreds of Australians have been injured or killed in e-scooter crashes in recent years.
Construction trainee Jayden Moreton, 24, was left in an induced coma with swelling and bleeding on his brain after he was hit by an Uber while riding his e-scooter to work in Brisbane in September.
The young dad continues to recover from his extensive injuries, which included two broken legs along with fractures in his face, neck and spine.
The Queensland government recently ramped up tougher penalties for e-scooter riders breaking road rules as part of a safety crackdown over the summer holiday period
‘We’ve seen a number of injury accidents and fatalities with e-scooters and it’s something we will be paying close attention to in the city and on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts over the festive period,” Queensland Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Stream said.
A year-long trial in Victoria that was due to end next month will be extended until the end of March while the impact is assessed.
This is despite e-scooters being involved in 252 crashes and riders issued with 827 infringements between December 1, 2021, and November 30, 2022.
Hundreds of e-scooter incidents have been recorded in Queensland in recent years. Pictured is the mangled wreckage of a scooter following a crash in Brisbane in September
