MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mid-South man claims he’s the latest victim of an electric scooter accident, and his whole life was changed in the blink of an eye in May.
One minute, he was whizzing down the streets of Midtown having fun, and now, the husband and father is paralyzed from the waist down after going flying off an electric scooter.
He’s one of many whose ride ended in a horrible accident, and he wants to tell his story before anyone else decides to get on one of these scooters.
“I turned around to see if my buddy was behind me,” Sean Moore said. “And I ended up on my neck, that easy.”
Even after just a moment of taking his eyes off the road and turning around, Moore’s life was altered.
“I went over the handle bars and landed on my head and broke my neck,” he said.
Moore wasn’t wearing a helmet in May when he hopped on an electric scooter in Midtown.
“The doctor says it could have been different if I was wearing a helmet,” Moore said.
He’s not sure if loose gravel or a pothole made him lose control, but he wants to make sure he warns others.
“I am an adrenaline junkie, and this little scooter got me,” he said.
There are many stories like Moore’s since scooter companies like Bird and Lime invaded cities all over the country. Since 2017, there have been at least 1,500 people hurt.
“They need to be regulated more,” Moore said.
Moore thinks changes should be made for the safety of anyone who wants to ride a scooter.
According to both Bird and Lime, the companies want to work with cities to address safety issues.
“In a split second, I am not working,” Moore said. “I can’t chase my baby around.”
For this family man, even if there are changes, there’s a chance his life may not return to normal.
“My livelihood is all gone, and my life changed,” Moore said.
After undergoing two surgeries, a stay in the intensive care unit and flat lining for 20 seconds, he just wants someone out there to learn from his experience.
Just to put things into perspective, there are roughly around 1,000 scooters all over the city.
A new law was also enacted on Monday in Tennessee that would allow someone who crashes a scooter while intoxicated to face DUI charges.
Moore’s family started a Go Fund Me for anyone who would like to help him out.
