4 days ago
Pennsylvania girl, 12, is killed in horrific e-scooter accident... now her mother is fighting for a new law
A 12-year-old girl has tragically died after she fell off an electric scooter and was struck by a passing car.
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.
