Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
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.
When police were able to track down the E-bike rider three months later, he told them that he was tackled by the other man who was chasing a soccer ball and left only after the two had “hugged it out,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald. It is estimated he was going about 20 mph at the time of the crash.
E-bikes are subjected to the same laws as motor vehicles, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said via Facebook.
Leesfield & Partners
Ira H. Leesfield, the Founder & Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners, has vehemently opposed the use of E-bikes in his hometown of Miami, Florida. As a personal injury attorney with over four decades of practice representing injured clients, Mr. Leesfield has become an expert and staunch advocate for public safety. The dangers associated with not having licenses or insurance requirements for E-scooters and E-bikes are apparent. The latest available data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission showed a 21% increase in injuries caused by E-bikes and scooters from 2021 to 2022 in the United States. Minors 14 years old and younger made up the bulk of those who were injured.
In a 2019 Op-Ed published in the law firm’s Florida Lawyer Injury-Blawg, Mr. Leesfield called the popularized modes of transportation an “epidemic” and asked lawmakers to enact rules and licensing requirements for these sidewalk hazards.
“Being unsightly may not be unforgivable, but landing innocent pedestrians or others in a neurosurgical coma is,” Mr. 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.”
Florida law states that E-bikes and E-scooters are allowed anywhere a normal bike would be including the road, bike lanes and multi-use paths. Local ordinances like ones in Miami Beach and Key Biscayne have enacted bans of these vehicles from boardwalks and beach paths.
Regulations like helmet usage, minimum age and insurance requirements would have a tremendous impact on mitigating injuries and help protect both riders and unsuspecting pedestrians.
