A minor riding an e-bike was severely injured in a northwest suburb on Wednesday, just days after Chicago saw its third teen to be killed in a crash with a driver while riding an e-scooter this year.
A juvenile of unknown age who was riding an e-bike was severely injured around 1 p.m. when they were involved in a crash with a driver near Walkup Road and Dvorak Road in unincorporated Crystal Lake, according to McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
A life flight was requested for the e-bike rider because of the severity of their injuries, authorities said, however, they were transported by ambulance instead because of the estimated arrival time for the aircraft.
The crash occurred outside the entrance to Prairie Ridge High School as a back-to-school event was happening, though the school did not immediately confirm to NBC Chicago if one of its students was involved. Authorities are continuing to investigate.
Hours later and miles away in Chicago, the grieving family and friends of 16-year-old Alex Blacio gathered for a vigil to honor his life that was cut short when he was struck while riding an e-scooter by a semi-truck driver on busy Western Avenue in North Center on Monday.
Blacio, a rising senior at Lake View High School, was riding home from work at his first job when he was killed. His death marks the third teenager to be killed while riding an e-scooter in Chicago this year.
Astrid Alexandra Carrillo Noguera, 17, and Violet Harris, 15, were both killed while riding e-bon the South Side nearly a month apart this spring.
In the suburbs, Tyler Waldal, a 14-year-old boy, was killed while riding an e-moto when he was involved in a crash with an SUV driver in Wauconda in late July, and 19-year-old Louis Toaquiza was killed in mid-June while riding an e-bike in Franklin Park when he was involved in a crash with a vehicle driven by a 63-year-old man.
The frequent collisions beg the question: How can motorized micromobility be made safer for young people in Illinois?
At Scooterworks, an e- and motor-scooter retailer on Chicago’s North Side, Nathan Oakes said the solution lies in helmet use, safer speeds and drivers paying better attention.
“The distracted driving is the biggest problem,” Oakes said. “I don’t think anybody is out to hurt each other, but if you’re not looking, you’re not seeing. Somebody will get hurt, and that’s on both the driver of the scooter and the car.”
He also said he thinks Illinois should require helmet use for bikers and scooter riders.
As more and more young people are using e-bikes and e-scooters to get around, safe streets advocates are using better protection on roads shared with vehicle traffic.
“It’s a middle ground that’s hard to reconcile while leaving space for everybody, it’s something that’s evolving and we’ll have to figure it out as we go,” Oakes said.
47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin, who oversees the area where Blacio was killed on Monday, said “given the rise in popularity of e-scooters, [his] office is working to expand safer routes for high school students traveling to and from school, as well as make additional safety improvements near the Western and Irving Park intersection.”
Martin said he also spoke with leaders at Chicago Department of Transportation and Lime, an e-scooter and e-bike sharing company, “to emphasize the urgent need to improve education for new riders.”
“It wasn’t being a teenager that led to this person losing their life, it wasn’t being on a scooter that cost them their life, it was intentional choices that the city makes around speeding, infrastructure, around policy, that continues to cost people their life,” said Alderman La Spata, a frequent advocate for street safety infrastructure. “When we get serious about speed controls in this city, about safe infrastructure in the city, those are the choices that we can make that will stop losing lives in this way.”
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched the Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready campaign to educate residents on how many vehicles marketed as e-bikes are actually much faster than people realize and to encourage parents to do their research before buying one for their children.
While authorities did not state the age of the juvenile involved in the crash, a new law set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, will mandate low-speed Class 1 or Class 2 users must be at least 15 years old. That also means no one under 15 will be allowed to ride an e-bike of any type.
Plus, riders of e-bikes and e-motos capable of exceeding 28 mph will be required to have a driver’s license, title, registration and insurance, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. High-speed e-bikes will also be prohibited on sidewalks, bike paths and bike lanes, and any e-bike with a motor greater than 750 watts will be regulated as a motor-driven cycle and will require a valid driver’s license, title, registration and insurance.
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