A 91-year-old man died Saturday after being struck by a rented electric scooter piloted by a suspected drunken driver who had a passenger on board, Los Angeles police said.
The crash occurred Saturday night on a sidewalk along Lincoln Boulevard at Marco Court in Venice at about 9:20 p.m. The coroner's office didn't immediately identify the victim.
The man driving the scooter, identified as James Cody Skene, 29, remained on the scene and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. A female passenger on the back of the scooter reported minor back injuries.
The stand-up scooters are common in the area with several companies operating versions of the devices in Venice, Los Angeles and Santa Monica. In all cases, scooters are required to be driven in the street with only one person on board.
After scooter use plummeted during the pandemic, micromobility trips are rapidly rising.
Shared mobility trips in Santa Monica have doubled since the start of the year, going from 44,799 trips in January to 88,023 trips in April. In popular areas like Downtown, numbers have tripled.
Companies and local officials acknowledge that sidewalk riding is a frequent problem in Los Angeles and is a danger for riders and pedestrians. It's illegal to ride on the sidewalk in Santa Monica and some companies are working on new systems to detect and prevent the practice.
The Venice Current and Associated Press contributed to this report.
