A teenage girl killed after the e-scooter she was riding collided with a van has been described by a friend as “a little rainbow of colour and fun”.
Eyewitnesses said the 14-year-old girl was riding an electric scooter when she was hit by a minivan in Green Street, Newham, at 1.30pm on Monday.
A family friend who went to the scene to lay flowers on Tuesday said the girl was “a little rainbow of colour and fun”.
The friend added: “I’ve spoken to the mum she is devastated. She was just a young kid finding herself in the world. She has two brothers and two sisters. She loved music she was cheeky, she was fun.”
An off-duty medic walking to work at Barts Health NHS Trust performed CPR on the victim before paramedics arrived.
He told the Standard he heard a “large bang and a scream” at the time of the incident.
He said: “It was immediately apparently that she had suffered a catastrophic head injury and I commenced CPR while bystanders called 999.
“The e-scooter lay beside her.”
He added: “We need to protect our young people and make sure e-scooters are as safe as possible.”
Eyewitness Tanzia, 26, saw the girl on the road moments before the crash.
She told the Standard: “She had a backpack and stuff with her so I assumed she was going to study. She wasn’t in a uniform.”
The witness added: “There’s not much I can say but I’m sending my prayers and love to them (the girl’s family).”
On Tuesday morning, children at St Edward’s Catholic Primary school put up heart shaped bunting next to the spot where the 14 year old died and left messages in tribute.The collision happened outside the school.
One said: “I’m very sorry for your loss and I hope your daughter rests in peace everybody in the street is thinking about your daughter.”
Another read: “I hope the teenager’s family will be able to deal with her tragic death and her soul goes to heaven.”
A third said: “We are so sorry for the terrible accident outside our school.”
Police cordoned off a half-mile stretch of the B167 in Newham, between Selsdon Road and Barking Road following the crash.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The rider of the e-scooter, a girl believed aged 14, was treated at the scene but died from her injuries.
“Next of kin have been informed.
“The driver of the van is with police - he has not been arrested.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We sent an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) to the scene.
“We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. The first paramedic arrived at the scene in less than five minutes.
“We treated a teenager at the scene and took them to hospital as a priority.”
It came after the Standard revealed more than 100 people were seriously injured riding e-scooters in London last year.
Transport for London said that 98 people were badly hurt and three killed in the capital riding the battery-powered scooters, which are illegal to use on public roads and pavements.
The use of privately-owned e-scooters is not allowed on public roads in the UK, however in June 2021 parts of London introduced a e-scooter rental scheme.
It is part of government-backed trials taking place across England.
