A 13-year-old boy died from injuries sustained in an e-scooter crash just days before new, stricter laws concerning e-mobility devices were set to take effect in Queensland, Australia. Blayde Pettitt was reportedly with friends at a McDonald's in Childers on August 26 when he tried riding a modified e-scooter belonging to an older friend.
The e-scooter proved too powerful for the 13-year-old, and he suffered serious head injuries in a single-vehicle crash approximately 500 meters away. He was airlifted to Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane in critical condition and passed away four days later, on August 30.
His family released a statement describing Blayde as a kind, funny, and wise boy with a big heart. They found comfort in the fact that his legacy would continue through organ donation. "I wasn't able to save my son's life and we had to make the hardest decision of our (lives), but our boy's kindness lives on," his mother said. "No parent should ever have to bury their child. He is my baby, my beautiful boy and my heart will forever have a piece missing."
Friends have initiated a GoFundMe campaign to help Blayde's family with funeral costs. The campaign described him as "the life of the party who lit up every room he entered, and that laugh was absolutely contagious." His school, Isis District State High School, also posted a tribute, calling him a "much loved member of our Year 8 cohort."
Police investigations into the crash are ongoing. It is understood that Blayde was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.
Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg called the teenager's death a tragedy and highlighted the timing with the state's rollout of new e-vehicle laws. These laws ban children under 12 from riding e-bikes or e-scooters on public roads and paths. Riders must be at least 16 and hold a driver's license to ride independently. Children aged 12 to 17 without a learner's license can only ride under parental supervision, and parents can face fines if underage children are caught riding illegally.
"It's one of the reasons that our government has pursued changes to e-mobility legislation to crackdown on those who are doing the wrong thing and to provide a framework to ensure that Queenslanders can use mobility devices in a safe way," Mickelberg stated. "Our laws get the balance right between cracking down on those who do the wrong thing while backing those Queenslanders who do the right thing and delivering sensible exemptions."