A 12-year-old boy who was killed riding an e-scooter that collided with a bus in Birmingham has been named as Mustafa Nadeem.
He is believed to have been riding a Voi e-scooter when the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Questions are being asked about how the boy was able to ride the scooter when Voi’s policy states riders must be over 18 and hold a provisional driving licence, as well as a valid payment method.
The West Midlands assistant police and crime commissioner Tom McNeil said “new questions were needed over Voi age verification” after Mustafa’s death.
The most recent data shows that in the year to June 2022, 12 people were killed in collisions involving e-scooters – up from four the previous year – and there were 1,437 casualties.
In March this year, a 14-year-old girl died after a collision involving a van while riding an e-scooter in east London.
DS Dean Caswell, from the West Midlands police serious collision investigation unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with Mustafa’s family and they are being supported by our specialist officers at this awful time. We are continuing to speak to witnesses as part of our ongoing investigations and would ask anyone who was on the bus, saw the incident, or has dashcam footage, to get in touch with us.”
Police said Mustafa’s family were being kept updated as they establish the full circumstances of the incident, and had asked to be allowed to grieve in private.
A Voi spokesperson said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the deceased’s family and friends. The news of this tragic accident has shocked us deeply. We’re liaising with West Midlands police and providing them with all the necessary information and we will be fully supportive of their ongoing investigation.
“We will not provide any further comment on the details of the incident at this moment in time.”
It is illegal to ride privately owned scooters on public roads in the UK, but e-scooters are being used in about 30 trials across England.
The Swedish company Voi launched its e-scooter trial in Birmingham in September 2020 and, after an expansion ahead of the Commonwealth Games this summer, reported there were 75,000 e-scooter rides in the city in September 2022.
