A 14-year-old boy who crashed his electric scooter in Beckenham is fighting for life.
Road safety campaigners called for a crackdown after the second accident in 24 hours involving the battery-powered vehicles in London.
The teenager is thought to have lost control riding on the pavement and collided with a bus stop at about midday on Saturday, according to The Sun.
He suffered a serious head injury and was airlifted to another hospital - where he remains in a critical condition.
A day earlier, TV presenter and YouTube star Emily Hartridge, 35, died when her motorised scooter collided with a lorry in Battersea.
Nick Lloyd, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “While there has only been one death in the UK there have been a number across Europe.”
Electric scooters are illegal to ride in public in the UK. Most users are unaware that e-scooters that reach speeds of 40mph can only be used on private land.
Anyone riding them the roads risks a £300 fine and six points on their driving licence, while those that ride them on the pavement face a £30 penalty.
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called to Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, at 11.42am on Saturday, 13 July to reports that a teenage boy had crashed an electric scooter.
‘Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
‘A 14-year-old boy was found with a serious head injury after it was reported his scooter had collided with a bus stop. He was taken by Air Ambulance to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
‘His next of kin have been informed. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.’
