A fire broke out after an e-bike exploded, severely burning a home in Northwest Miami-Dade over the weekend, according to reporting from WSVN.
Josue Paz, the son of the homeowner, told reporters that he was asleep when an e-bike, which was given to him as a birthday gift, exploded around 10 :30 p.m. Saturday.
Paz said he jumped out of bed and rushed to get his family out of the house.
A minor is facing criminal charges after a 54-year-old bicyclist was killed in a crash on Friday night, according to Miami police.
The crash happened on the Rickenbacker Causeway, the bridge connecting the island of Key Biscayne to the mainland, around 8:20 p.m. The bicyclist who was killed was identified in reporting from The Miami Herald as Fabian Moses.
Both Moses and the minor were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment. Moses later died from his injuries, and the minor was treated for facial injuries.
Officers from the Port St. Lucie Police Department say that approximately 50 people came to town for a planned “street takeover” in the area, with some even traveling from Palm Beach and Tampa.
When the “lawless” brigade arrived, however, officers were ready to greet them.
The incident happened over the weekend after police discovered chatter online about a planned meetup near SW Village Parkway and SW Crosstown Parkway. Those who showed up included both minors and adults.
A man riding an electric scooter on July 19 died after falling into the road and getting hit by a tractor-trailer, according to a press release this week from the Spokane Police Department.
Sean Nolan, 21, was riding an electric scooter on a sidewalk in Spokane County, Washington, police said. He was the rear passenger on the scooter and lost his balance before falling into the road. The man driving the scooter also fell but landed on the sidewalk. Nolan was hit by an oncoming tractor-trailer.
The driver stopped and attempted to “render aid,” before police arrived, officials said. Both police officers and firefighters also attempted to give first aid, but Nolan was pronounced dead at the scene.
A driver faces multiple charges after police say she chased a minor e-biker for several blocks in North Florida.
Julia Kalthof, 65, of Palm Coast, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and reckless driving, the Miami Herald reported Friday. She was also cited for driving on a multi-use path and released on a $3,000 bond.
The incident happened on June 7 in Palm Coast, about a 60-mile drive south from Jacksonville, when emergency responders got a 911 call from a man reporting an erratic SUV driver following an e-bike rider on a multi-use path. Luckily, a Good Samaritan in another car blocked Kalthof’s SUV, allowing the 14-year-old biker to escape, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office press release.
A man died after he lost control of his golf cart in Fort Myers and crashed into a propane truck Saturday, injuring his passenger and the driver of the truck, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
The crash happened around 11 a.m. Saturday on Winkler Road. Officials with Florida Highway Patrol told reporters that the man was driving the golf cart south when he “left the road, overcorrected” and swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting a propane truck traveling in the opposite direction.
The golf cart driver, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene while his passenger, a 30-year-old man, was injured along with the driver of the propane truck. Both had minor injuries, according to local reporting.
Parked along every street corner or perched against the sides of South Miami buildings, taunting drivers sitting in gridlocked traffic on U.S. 1, is a cluster of e-scooters for rent.
The “epidemic,” as Ira Leesfield, the Founder and Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners, first dubbed it in 2019 has become the cause for concern for councilmembers, politicians and safety advocates across the United States and abroad. Without licensing, insurance or age requirements, the drivers of electric scooters and bikes can go anywhere they please, meaning sidewalks, streets, pedestrian paths and more.
“Being unsightly may not be unforgivable, but landing innocent pedestrians or others in a neurosurgical coma is,” Leesfield said. “Not to mention a slew of other reported serious injuries … Just ask those who work at Hospitals and Emergency rooms or walk-in medical facilities.”
An E-bike rider was charged with a felony after an alleged hit-and-run crash with a man on a Central Florida beach, local police announced Wednesday.
The 37-year-old was charged Monday with felony leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and operating an electric bicycle in a manner likely to cause harm after the Memorial Day crash on Ormond Beach, about an hour outside of Orlando in Volusia County, Florida.
The incident took place around 5 p.m. on May 27 and, according to police, the man injured in the event had been playing soccer near where the E-bike rider was speeding. The area where he was riding is set aside for pedestrians. Following the crash, the man who was playing soccer was rushed to the hospital where it was determined he had three broken ribs. The E-biker had left before the police arrived.
People all over the world rely on public transportation to get them where they need to go every day. They go to work, school and are expected to come home safely. Sadly, that was not the case for at least 46 people last week in Marion County after a bus rollover crash killed eight farm workers on board and injured 38 others.
According to a statement from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were 53 people aboard a bus just before 7 a.m. on May 14 when it had a sideswipe crash with a 2001 Ford Ranger private truck. The bus went off the road following the crash, through a fence and later rolled over.
At least eight of the 38 passengers who were injured were reported to be in critical condition, according to the Miami Herald. The driver of the truck involved in the incident, 41-year-old Bryan Maclean Howard, of Ocala, was charged Tuesday with eight counts of driving under the influence and manslaughter. Details on the name of the transportation company that operated the bus in the crash were not immediately available.
A recent accident in Key Biscayne, Florida, involving a 12-year-old riding an e-bike and a traditional bicycle, tragically resulted in the death of the bicyclist, Megan Andrews, a career-educator and pillar in the community. This incident has once again brought the dangers of e-bikes, particularly when operated by younger riders, into sharp focus.
Key Biscayne’s local leaders, under massive public pressure, approved a temporary complete ban on e-bikes during an emergency meeting. The temporary ban will be in place for 60 days, the maximum length of time the Village could approve without running afoul of the law. The ban applies all roads of the Village of Key Biscayne except for Crandon Boulevard (the main and highest-traffic roadway of Key Biscayne) because it is owned and regulated by Miami-Dade County.
Electric bikes, or e-bikes, have become increasingly popular in the entire country, including Florida. However, when it comes to children using e-bikes and the dangers they bring, the legislator has dropped the ball miserably by failing to address crucial safety concerns:
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