Widower left outraged as teen who knocked down and killed wife while riding illegal e-scooter dodges jail
9 March 2023, 14:12 | Updated: 9 March 2023, 14:28
A widower has been left outraged after a teen who knocked down and killed his wife while riding an uninsured e-scooter was able to avoid a jail term.
Garry Davis, 73, explained he had lost “my spark and the centre of my world” following the death of his wife, Linda Davis, after 52 years together.
Mrs Davis, 73, died after being struck by the unnamed 14-year-old, who mounted the pavement while illegally riding a privately owned e-scooter on June 2 last year.
Receiving a catastrophic brain injury as a result of the collision, Mrs David died six days later in hospital.
Speaking with The Times, Davis added: “The law stinks.
"If you or I were driving on the pavement in an uninsured car or an uninsured motorbike you’d have been locked up.”
Following the collision, which took place in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, the court heard how the teen stopped to ring the emergency services and remained on site until they arrived.
District Judge Leo Pyle also revealed to Nottingham Youth Court that the boy was only bought the scooter six days earlier by his father.
“In that short time” added the judge, the boy had already fractured his thumb whilst riding the illegal vehicle.
Appearing in court, the unnamed teen pleaded guilty to causing death by driving a vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence and to causing death by driving a vehicle while uninsured.
In accordance with UK law, it is illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on public land - including highways, pavements and cycle lanes.
E-scooter riders must also hold a provisional driving licence, meaning riding the electric vehicle only becomes legal from the age of 16.
Avoiding a custodial sentence, District Judge Leo Pyle sentenced the teenager to a 12-month referral order and banned from driving for five years.
His parents were also given a six-month parenting order and made to pay the prosecution a mere £85 in costs and a victim surcharge of £26.
Describing the accident as "avoidable", the judge reiterated that the e-scooter should never have been on the path.
Police believe Mrs Davis' death to be the first pedestrian fatality caused by an e-scooter in the UK to-date.
