Young e-scooter rider dies in Kamloops

E-scooter injuries are already sending many Canadians to hospital, with new data showing a sharp rise in serious crashes. Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ /AFP/Getty Images

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A young man has died in an e-scooter accident in Kamloops.

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According to Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, police were called to Kamloops General Hospital at around 6 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16 after the arrival of a badly injured e-scooter rider.

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Shoihet said the crash occurred near the intersection of Battle Street and Lee Road east of downtown Kamloops and did not involve any other vehicles.

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“He suffered critical injuries and was later pronounced dead in hospital,” Shoihet said, adding the rider was 18.

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Police did not recover a helmet from the scene.

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The use of electric kick scooters around the province is the subject of a four-year pilot project, expiring in April 2028.

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Twenty-seven municipalities are participating, including Kamloops.

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An interim report into the pilot project released in 2025 found a high percentage of injured riders turning up in hospital were not wearing a helmet. Kelowna General Hospital, for example, reported 85 per cent of electric scooter injury cases related to no helmet being used.

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In June, Postmedia reported that e-scooter injuries among children in B.C. more than doubled in a single year, with most of those hurt too young to legally ride.

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B.C. Children’s Hospital recorded 81 e-scooter-related emergency room visits in 2025-26, up from 37 the year before. More than half involved children aged 13 to 15, below B.C.’s legal riding age of 16.

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The figures were released just days after a 12-year-old was struck by a car while riding an e-scooter in North Vancouver.

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Dr. Shelina Babul, director of the injury research and prevention unit at B.C. Children’s Hospital, said nearly 60 per cent of injured riders had been travelling above the 25 kilometre-an-hour speed limit.

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Babul said e-scooters handle differently than bikes. Riders stand upright with a higher centre of gravity. And smaller wheels make them more vulnerable to cracks and debris in the road.

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Cities across Metro Vancouver are grappling with how to respond. Burnaby recently amended its street and traffic bylaw to ban e-scooters from major and arterial roads, parks and sidewalks, restricting them to protected bike lanes, multi-use pathways and local roads. Riders are also now forbidden from wearing headphones.

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With Postmedia files

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