16-05-2025
Mother reveals heartbreaking messages she sent to son, 14, as he lay dying in intensive care after helmetless e-scooter crash
A mother who lost her 14-year-old son in an e-scooter crash has revealed the heartbreaking messages she sent her 'amazing boy' while he lay dying in intensive care.
Jacob Calland was riding on the back of an e-scooter without a helmet through a busy junction in Wythenshawe, Manchester, on March 19 when the horrific crash happened.
He suffered a severe head injury and was given urgent life-saving treatment by paramedics on the scene.
Jacob was then taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where he was kept under sedation on an intensive care ward for eight days.
While he was on the ward, his mother Carly Calland sent him messages with the hope that he would wake up and read them.
On March 22, three days into his treatment, she wrote: 'Morning son... your numbers are looking good, your sodium levels are a little high so they had to give you some medicine to correct them.
'You also ain't reacting to the light in your eyes but that's okay because you are under a lot of sedation which is good for you as we need your brain to get better xxx
'But mums here right by your side I love you son xx'
Jacob contracted sepsis and went into cardiac arrest, he was stabilised after 20 minutes of resuscitation but the swelling intensified
After she sent the message, Jacob's condition worsened - he contracted sepsis and went into cardiac arrest.
He was stabilised after 20 minutes of resuscitation but the swelling intensified.
In another text message, Ms Calland wrote: 'I had a feeling there was something wrong… You're so poorly it's so scary!
'Come on buddy mum can't lose you! Bring those numbers down for me!!! I love you.'
On March 27 he died and was never able to read the heartfelt messages from his mother.
Since then, Ms Calland has campaigned for tighter restrictions around the use of e-scooters.
Most recently, she has released a video titled 'Jacob's Journey - Life Over Death' to prevent other young people from suffering the same fate.
It shows Jacob walking out of his Wythenshawe home on March 19, and footage of the air ambulance landing close to the Lidl supermarket following the collision.
Jacob was taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where he was kept under sedation on an intensive care ward for eight days
The video is 18 minutes long - the exact amount of time it took for him to leave his home and crash into the vehicle.
It has been viewed more than 20,000 times on YouTube in the last four days and details what happened in the immediate aftermath.
It includes screenshots from social media of people questioning what had happened, and a phone call to Carly telling her Jacob had been in an accident.
In the aftermath of the collision, Carly says social media was flooded with 'abusive and nasty comments' about Jacob and her family from people who had no idea what had happened, or the circumstances.
She hopes those people will watch the video and think twice before making judgments on people in the future.
The 36-year-old said she made the video and started the online campaign for better legislation around e-scooters 'to share what me and Jacob went through, to warn parents and children about the consequences of riding e-scooters and to remind people that they are illegal to use'.
'If my video and campaign stops just one child getting on one then my pain was worth it,' said Carly, who has a younger son Jaxley, seven.
'The law needs to change urgently. Anyone of any age can buy an e-scooter and there is no age limit on who can ride them.
The 36-year-old said she made the video and started the online campaign for better legislation around e-scooters 'to share what me and Jacob went through'
'The only thing the law says is that they can't be used in public, which so many adults and children just ignore. I'm not the only one grieving but all of Jacob's friends are too. They are devastated.'
In the UK it is illegal to ride e-scooters on pavements, public roads or cycle lanes.
If a driver is caught doing this, they can be fined and have their scooter seized.
However, since 2019, 49 people have died while riding e-scooters.
In total, 29 people died between 2020 and 2023 in 4,515 e-scooter collisions, which also caused 4,807 injuries, 1,402 of them serious.
Greater Manchester Police said no arrests have been made in connection with the collision. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell footage is asked to get in touch with officers.
