A scooter rider was fatally struck by a motorist Friday afternoon on the city’s South Side, police said.
The scooter rider, a female of unknown age, was traveling southbound in the 3300 block of South King Drive in the Douglas neighborhood when she was struck by a Jeep traveling in the same direction around 4:15 p.m., police said in a preliminary statement. The injured scooter rider was transported to UChicago Medicine, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
The 36-year-old woman driving the Jeep was issued a citation for failure to avoid an accident. The police Major Accidents Investigation Unit was investigating.
The fatal collision follows 15-year-old Violet Harris, who was killed last month in an apparent hit-and-run while she rode a Lime electric scooter in the city’s South Shore neighborhood. Harris’ death underscored growing concerns about the risks of riding small, low-speed electric vehicles and the shortcomings of the user agreements riders have with the companies that rent them.
Safety of e-scooters questioned as family grieves teen killed in hit-and-run
In the wake of the hit-and-run, Harris’ family called for new legislation that would prioritize safety and ensure “tragedies like this” don’t happen again.
