"The 12-year-old is believed to have been riding an e-scooter"
A 12-year-old schoolboy has died after colliding with a bus while riding his e-scooter.
The tragic incident took place just before 8 am on December 6, 2022, in Belchers Lane, Birmingham, while Mustafa Madeem was on his way to school.
Emergency services rushed to the crash site, closing the road off during rush hour.
But despite the efforts of paramedics, Mustafa was pronounced dead at the scene.
His uncle Wakas Rashid said the family are devastated.
He said: “The family are devastated as you can imagine. This is a desperately sad time for us all.
“They have been in the mosque all evening where friends and family have been coming to pay their respects.”
Mustafa was the second eldest of four siblings.
A nearby shop worker said: “He was zooming down the road on an e-scooter and then got hit by the bus.
“The road was closed for about two hours as this is how long the emergency services to get him out from under the bus.”
West Midlands Police said:
“A boy has sadly died after a collision involving a bus in Birmingham today.
“The 12-year-old is believed to have been riding an e-scooter when he collided with a bus on Bordesley Green, near to the junction with Belchers Lane, just before 8 am.
“He was sadly confirmed dead at the scene. The road remains closed this afternoon while our investigators work to establish what happened.
“The youngster’s family has been told, and are being supported by specially trained officers.”
Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, of the force’s serious collision investigation unit, said:
“This is an awful tragedy for the young boy’s family and friends, and our thoughts are with them at this time.
“We’ve spoken to a number of witnesses, but still want to hear from any of the passengers on the bus who we’ve not yet spoken to, or from people who may have captured what happened on dashcam.
“If people do have footage, we’d ask them not to share it on social media but to send it to us so that we can help establish exactly what happened.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance said it sent two ambulances and two paramedic officers to the scene.
The spokesperson said: “He had sustained life-threatening injuries and was in a critical condition.
“Unfortunately, it became clear that nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed deceased at the scene.”
Nobody on the bus required treatment.
E-scooter firm Voi is now liaising with West Midlands Police.
A spokesperson for the firm said:
“First and foremost our thoughts are with the deceased’s family and friends. The news of this tragic accident has shocked us deeply.
“We’re liaising with West Midlands Police and providing them with all the necessary information and we will be fully supportive of their ongoing investigation.
“Based on the notification we received from the police, we understand that the deceased was involved in an accident on Tuesday 6th December.
“We will not provide any further comment on the details of the incident at this moment in time.”
Mustafa’s death comes as Britain faces a sharp rise in the number of people killed during e-scooter crashes, with the number of fatal collisions tripling in a year.
In the year ending June 2022:
- There were 12 deaths – up from four in 2021.
- There were 1,349 e-scooter crashes – up 28% from 978.
- There were 1,437 casualties in e-scooter crashes – up from 1,033.
- Of all casualties in collisions involving e-scooters, 1,095 were e-scooter users – up from 811.
- Of all the crashes, 346 involved one e-scooter with no other vehicles involved – up from 200.
- After adjusting for changes in reporting by police, it is estimated that there were 429 seriously injured and 996 slightly injured casualties in collisions involving e-scooters – up from 288 and 741 respectively.
Stats also show that there are more male than female e-scooter user casualties, especially among those aged between 10 and 39.
When it comes to the time of day, there is an upward trend which starts at 6 am and ending at around 4 pm – 5 pm with a dip at 10 am, followed by a downward trend from 4 pm to 10 pm.
There are two peaks, the first one at 8 am and the second one at around 4 pm.
Government figures show that the Metropolitan police reported around a third of all casualties involving e-scooters in Great Britain, compared with around a fifth of all casualties involving any vehicle.
Avon and Somerset police have had the third most reports of casualties from crashes involving e-scooters outside of London.
There were 87 reports in the year ending June 2022, only topped by the 463 reports to the Met Police and the 91 made to Nottinghamshire police.
Despite being more economically friendly than cars, e-scooters are still of concern and the tragic incident involving Mustafa Madeem is just one instance.
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