Pennsylvania girl, 12, is killed in horrific e-scooter accident... now her mother is fighting for a new law
Abby Gillon and a friend were riding e-scooters in Aston Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, on June 14 when they both fell and were hit by the car.
Paramedics treated the pair at the scene before transferring them to a children's hospital in Delaware in critical condition, KYW reports.
Abby died from her injuries two days later. Her friend, 11-year-old Bella Jones, survived the horrific accident.
The driver involved in the crash is understood to have cooperated with police. No criminal charges were filed in the investigation.
Abby's mother Lori Kralle said she feels 'broken' after the horror crash took the life of 'my best friend, my only daughter, my only child'.
Kralle is working alongside Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney to pass legislation that would strengthen safety protocols for e-scooters.
'I don't want another family having to get that phone call or having to bury their child,' the grieving mother said. 'It shouldn't have happened'.
The bill, dubbed Abby's Law, would ban people under the age of 16 from riding e-scooters.
The proposed law would also cap e-scooter speeds at 20mph and require that 16 and 17-year-old riders wear helmets.
Kralle, who has vowed to protect other youths from facing the same fate that befell her daughter, wants electric scooters to be formally addressed in motor vehicle codes.
'They're not actually covered in the motor vehicle code at all. So what that means is that they're not legal to drive on the streets,' she told KYW.
'The only thing they say in the motor vehicle code is that you can only operate them on private property, which is kind of crazy, because you know that's not happening.'
Abby's Law is expected to be formally introduced to state lawmakers next month.
The family has created a Facebook group to gain support for Abby's Law and safety measures the Kralles believe 'need to be put in place for children under the age of 18 who have access to these motorized devices'.
Abby's loved ones encourage supporters to 'share Abigail's sacrifice with other parents and children with hopes that she will continue to save lives as we plead for changes to the laws governing these motorized devices'.
The group has already amassed more than 3,300 members.
A GoFundMe page was set up to support Abby's family which has raised almost $90,000.
Another fundraising page was also started to support Bella through her recovery.
She was badly hurt in the incident but is now back home recovering, NBC Philadelphia reported last month, a process which was expected to take some six months.
Last month, a 21-year-old died in Washington state after falling off the scooter and into the path of a moving semi-truck, police said.
Sean Keaton Nolan was one of two passengers on the scooter as they rode along the sidewalk near the university district at around 2.20am.
E-scooter bans have been considered in multiple areas across the US in recent years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
What to know about the Michigan sign-stealing scheme and NCAA punishments
The NCAA imposed a multimillion-dollar fine on Michigan and suspended football coach Sherrone Moore for a third game on Friday for a sign-stealing scandal that has overshadowed college football's most successful program for nearly two years. Here's what you need to know: What is the scandal about? Reports surfaced in 2023 of a scheme run by now-former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. The scheme involved a network of Stalions' associates — dubbed the 'KGB' — attending games and recording opposing team sidelines to capture play-calling signals. The NCAA said it found '56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular-season opponents' over 52 games over three seasons (2021-23). The NCAA prohibits in-person scouting of same-season future opponents and using electronic equipment to record another team's signals. What did Connor Stalions do? The NCAA said Stalions spearheaded the sign-stealing operation. The former Marine was accused of assembling a team of scouts which he'd send to games of upcoming opponents. Stalions' network of scouts would provide him with film of signal callers on future opponents' sidelines. The NCAA said he would then decipher the signals, giving Michigan a competitive advantage. The NCAA said the extent of the operation is not fully known as Stalions and others involved have destroyed and withheld evidence. Stalions, a Navy graduate, was suspended by the school and later resigned. He recently said he knew almost every signal opponents used in seven games over two seasons. What is a show-cause order? A show-cause order effectively bans an individual from college athletics. In order to be hired for a college sports job by a school that is an NCAA member during a show-cause order, the prospective employer would have to make a strong case, or show cause, in front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. Former coach Jim Harbaugh, former assistant director of player personnel Denard Robinson and Stalions will be prohibited from athletic-related activities for years. Harbaugh was given the longest show-cause order, spanning 10 years after the conclusion of his current four-year order on Aug. 7, 2028. Robinson is banned for three years, and Stalions for eight years. Harbaugh, a former Michigan star quarterback, is heading into his second year as head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. Is the fine significant? Michigan faces financial penalties surpassing $20 million, including a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine on the football program's budget, a 10% fine on Michigan's 2025-2026 scholarships and a fine matching the projected loss of postseason revenue for 2025 and 2026. Will that hurt a school with Michigan's resources? All top programs are sharing up to $20.5 million this school year directly with their athletes and under the House decision scholarships are unlimited, though there are roster caps. That has forced schools to look for revenue sources from different places. In June, Michigan said revenues and expenses for its next fiscal year were expected to be $266.3 million. What about coach Moore? Moore had previously been issued a self-imposed two-game suspension by Michigan, which will be served this season. The NCAA levied an additional one-game suspension, which Moore will serve during next season's opener. Moore received a two-year show-cause order but unlike Stalions and Harbaugh he will be allowed to fulfill coaching commitments and other related activities. ___
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Colorado jail's ex-commander sued over allegedly watching strip search videos of over 100 women
Three women who were among the more than 100 inmates whose strip search videos were allegedly watched repeatedly by a Colorado jail's former commander are suing him and government agencies, saying they failed to keep tabs on who was accessing the images and why. The proposed federal class action lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that La Plata County and its sheriff's office knew that Edward Aber had a history of being accused of sexual impropriety or harassment when he was hired and failed to place controls on access to strip search footage, including monitoring who was accessing it. Aber is already being criminally prosecuted after a state investigation found that he had watched the strip search videos of at least 117 female inmates over about five years, often viewing them weeks and months after they were recorded as part of the jail's intake process. The searches of female inmates entering the county jail are done by female deputies and recorded on their body cameras to ensure the new inmates are not hiding contraband like drugs on their bodies. His lawyer in the criminal case, Barrie Newberger King, was traveling and did not immediately return emails or a voice message left at her office, which is closed this week. A telephone message left at a number listed for Aber was not immediately returned. Interim Deputy County Manager Megan Downing said the county does not comment on active litigation. Another lawsuit involving the jail was filed last month against the county commissioners, the sheriff and others by the parents of an inmate who died there in 2023 after they say the jail's nurses and sheriff's deputies ignored his cries for help over about 15 hours. Aber was placed on paid leave in July 2024 while he was investigated for 'alleged sexual conduct' with female inmates and sexual harassment of sheriff's office employees, according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by an agent from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in the video case. The previous investigation did not result in any criminal charges being filed against Aber, who resigned in July 2024, but prompted a review of his computer use, the document said. Between February 2019 and July 2024, investigators found that Aber had logged in to access body camera footage over 3,000 times, mostly to watch footage labeled as strip searches, without any apparent legitimate reason, according to the arrest affidavit. The videos were sometimes watched from home and hotels, often late at night or early in the morning, it said. Aber was charged last month with one count of first degree official misconduct as well 117 counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, all misdemeanors, for alleging watching the videos of female inmates, including the three women who filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit also seeks to include any other woman whose videos were allegedly viewed by Aber. The document noted that some videos Aber had accessed were purged from the system, so there could be more women whose videos he watched beyond the videos of the 117 women that remained. The lawsuit accuses Aber and the others of violating the women's constitutional rights, including their rights to privacy and to be protected against unreasonable searches. One of their attorneys, Kevin Mehr, acknowledged that strip searches are needed in jails. But he said there could be some limits on why videos of such intrusive moments can be viewed, such as if contraband was found or if an inmate complains of being mistreated, he said. Otherwise, trust in the criminal justice system can be eroded, he said. 'Seeing this happen and thinking this could happen somewhere else really deteriorates the whole trust in the system," Mehr said.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man struck and killed on freeway after fleeing immigration agents, California official says
A man fleeing immigration authorities outside a Home Depot store in Southern California was struck and killed by an SUV when he ran across a nearby freeway, officials said. Monrovia police received a call Thursday about the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. A responding officer saw ICE agents approaching the store and conducting enforcement activity there, City Manager Dylan Feik said in a statement. Monrovia is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. One man fled on foot and headed toward the nearby freeway, where he was struck by a vehicle, Feik said. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, the statement said. 'We extend our condolences for the individual and his family,' Feik said. The California Highway Patrol said the man was running across the lanes of eastbound Interstate 210 when he was struck by an SUV traveling about 50 or 60 miles (80 or 97 kilometers) per hour. The man's name was not immediately released pending the notification of family. The CHP said the crash is under investigation. Feik said he did not have information about the immigration operation or whether anyone was arrested. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote in an email that the agency was not notified of the incident until hours after operations in the area had concluded. 'This individual was not being pursued by any DHS law enforcement,' said the spokesperson, who was not named. The spokesperson did not respond to questions about the operation. The report is the second of a person being killed in Southern California while fleeing federal immigration enforcement authorities. Last month, a farmworker fell from a greenhouse roof during an immigration raid at a cannabis facility northwest of Los Angeles and died from his injuries. A vigil was planned for Friday by immigrant advocates, who denounced the widespread raids since President Donald Trump took office this year. Trump has stepped up enforcement in a crackdown on immigration with raids and a surge in immigration detention. Arrests have been reported at Home Depot stores, car washes, garment factories and other sites across Southern California, stoking widespread fear in immigrant communities. Last month, a federal court in Southern California temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out indiscriminate sweeps. A hearing on the issue is set for September. George Lane, a Home Depot spokesperson, said in an email that the company isn't notified when immigration operations will take place and is not involved in them. Lane deferred questions to ICE.
