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Child critically injured in Crystal Lake e-bike crash as calls grow for tougher safety rules
A child is fighting for their life after an e-bike crash in Crystal Lake, adding to growing concerns about the safety of motorized bikes and scooters across the Chicago area.
CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. - A child is fighting for their life after an e-bike crash in Crystal Lake, adding to growing concerns about the safety of motorized bikes and scooters across the Chicago area.
Crystal Lake e-bike crash
The backstory:
Emergency crews responded around 1 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Walkup Road and Dvorak Drive after receiving reports of a vehicle striking a child riding an e-bike.
According to Crystal Lake Fire Rescue, first responders arrived within four minutes and found the child lying in the roadway with severe, life-threatening injuries.
The child was taken by ambulance to a hospital in McHenry before being airlifted to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where the patient remained hospitalized Thursday. Officials had not released an update on the child's condition or details about what led to the crash.
Big picture view:
The incident comes just days after a 16-year-old Chicago teen was killed in an e-scooter crash in the city's North Center neighborhood, fueling renewed debate over how Illinois regulates high-powered electric bikes and scooters.
What they're saying:
State Sen. Darby Hills said lawmakers are working to address what she described as gaps in current state law.
"There is no regulation addressing these problems," Hills said. "When these vehicles/cycles are going so fast on our major roads, we are hearing about terrible tragedies every day, and we need to get something in place so that we can address this.
Hills said the bipartisan legislation would establish statewide rules for certain high-powered e-bikes and e-scooters while giving law enforcement clearer authority to enforce unsafe riding.
She said police officers have often been left without clear guidance when encountering riders traveling at high speeds, particularly when minors are involved.
Transportation officials do not currently maintain separate real-time data tracking crashes involving e-bikes and e-scooters versus traditional bicycles, making it difficult to determine how many serious crashes involving motorized devices have occurred this year.
The Source: The information in this report came from Crystal Lake Fire Rescue and State Sen Darby Hills.