E-scooter knocks senior onto sidewalk as he gets off bus

A Winnipeg man was thrown onto the pavement and injured after being struck by an electric scooter after stepping off a Winnipeg Transit bus Monday afternoon, an incident he hopes will push the city to take a closer look at sidewalk safety.

Mike McKenna, 69, said he was returning home from work at Health Sciences Centre when he stepped out of the rear doors of the bus at a stop on southbound Main Street at Broadway.

“The second my foot hit the pavement, like in the corner of my eye, I saw something beating at me,” McKenna said. “Then kaboom.”

McKenna said the impact sent him into the air and he landed hard on his left arm on the concrete sidewalk. He said the bus driver got out of the vehicle to check on him.

“I went flying right in the air, and smashed down on the sidewalk,” he said. “I (lay) there for a while because it was just so devastating, you know.”

His arm was scraped and bruised from just above his elbow to his mid-forearm. McKenna, who regularly lifts weights, said the injury has forced him to put his workout routine on hold.

“My left arm, I can’t use it,” he said, adding it could take a week to recover.

McKenna said he did not go to the hospital, but was dizzy afterward, and treated the injury himself at home.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported hospitalizations linked to e-scooter injuries increased 32 per cent in 2023-24, rising to 498 from 375 the previous year.

The scooter rider, who was not wearing a helmet, stopped after the collision and helped McKenna to his feet. McKenna said the rider appeared shaken and apologized.

“He wouldn’t let go of my hand,” McKenna said. “He was genuinely scared and sorry.”

McKenna said the rider told him he saw the bus doors open and tried to brake before the collision but was unable to due to the speed of the e-scooter, which left skid marks on the sidewalk before striking him.

“A 24-inch skid mark and then the smash happened.”

McKenna said his concern goes beyond his own injuries, pointing to the possibility of a similar crash involving someone more vulnerable.

“I’m a fit guy, even though I’m old,” McKenna said. “But you know, these little old fragile ladies ride the bus, and what if that was them? She would have never made it … that was just too big of a crash.”

McKenna, who lives downtown, says he has noticed more electric scooters and e-bikes “zooming” through his neighbourhood in recent years and believes pedestrians are at risk because of the speed of motorized devices.

“I thought somebody’s gonna get hit. I never thought it’d be me,” he said.

Manitoba has moved toward new rules for personal electric vehicles, including e-scooters, e-skateboards and electric unicycles. The province passed legislation in June that imposes new requirements, including a minimum operating age of 16, mandatory helmets, a ban on sidewalk riding except where designated, and a maximum operating speed of 25 km/h.

The province has not announced when the changes will take effect or what penalties will apply to rule breakers.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of city council’s public works committee, said that rules are needed to address safety concerns related to personal electric vehicles.

“There are very few rules, and that makes it very challenging.”

She said creating regulations tailored to Winnipeg’s size and infrastructure presents challenges, and that enforcement will be difficult given the city’s population.

“It’s one of these environments that we’ve got to get under control, and we’re working on it, but it doesn’t happen overnight,” Lukes said. “But the repercussions of the person driving the e-bike (who hit McKenna), they’ve driven off into the sunset. So it’s not a good scenario.”

McKenna said he hopes his experience will prompt quick action to regulate e-scooters and other personal electric vehicles.

“This is an example of just how brutal it’s going to be, not how it might be.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca