Girl, 8, suffers broken leg after e-scooter hit-and-run

An eight-year-old girl suffered a broken leg after she was struck by an electric scooter rider.

Elliemai Smith was taken to hospital in an ambulance after she hit by the e-scooter while walking on a footpath in Andover, Hampshire, last Thursday.

She was sent hurtling into the air after a man on the scooter collided with her, and suffered concussion.

Police are trying to track down the rider after he left the scene on the footpath between Rimini Road and Smannell Road without providing any details.

Elliemai's mother, Kayleigh McColl, 28, said the rider was travelling at "well over 20mph" when he struck her daughter, leaving her with two broken bones in her right leg.

Ms McColl was walking her daughter home from school with one of Elliemai's friends from Knights Enham Junior School and the two girls had run ahead.

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Ms McColl said: “The two girls were running towards an alley, but as she came around the corner this lad came flying up the path and took her off her feet.

“She did a 360 - I nearly had a heart attack, and I ran over to her.”

She described the driver of the e-scooter as being in his early 20s, with curly hair that was gingerish in colour. She said the scooter was large and black.

The mother-of-two said the driver initially seemed in shock and apologised, before promising he would come back and then riding off. He did not return.

Elliemai had a large bump on her head, her legs were 'floppy' and her mother says she was in extreme pain, even appearing to drift in and out of consciousness.

Ms McColl called an ambulance which took them to hospital in nearby Basingstoke.

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Doctors discovered that Elliemai had fractured both the bones in her lower right leg, and fitted her with a temporary cast to allow for expected swelling before a full cast is made.

Ms McColl said: “It was awful. Elliemai was freaking out, and I was freaking out but trying to keep her calm.

“She's my baby girl and she could have died. The force at which she hit the ground, if that had been her head it could so easily have been much worse. And it was so easily preventable.”

Describing what she remembers of the incident, Elliemai said: “He was so fast, I couldn’t see him coming.

"I was very scared. It felt really really painful.”

Ms McColl said: “I am so angry. I shouldn’t have let him leave but at the time my focus was on my daughter.

"I think him not staying, and driving off, makes it one hundred times worse. Imagine if that had happened to a child who was walking home on their own?”

She has managed to get a wheelchair for Elliemai, and hopes to secure a right-leg elevation one soon.

“She has been so brave, it just breaks my heart," said her mother. "She should be able to run home from school without having to worry. No little girl should go through that.”

E-scooters are widely sold in the UK, but are currently only legal on private land or through government hire schemes.

In a statement, Hampshire Constabulary said: "We are appealing for witnesses following a collision in Andover last week involving an e-scooter and pedestrian.

"The incident occurred between 3.20pm and 4pm on Thursday 7 July, on the footpath between Rimini Road and Smannell Road.

"The pedestrian, an eight-year-old girl, suffered a concussion and broken leg in the collision, and, while the e-scooter rider did initially stop, he left the scene without providing any details.

"He is described as being white, of slim build, around 5ft 9ins tall, in his late teens to early 20s, and with gingery/brown hair which is curly on top and shaved on the sides and wiry facial hair.

"He was wearing black jeans and grey trainers, and riding a black e-scooter.

"Officers have been making enquiries to locate the rider, and we are keen to hear from anyone with information about the incident.

"We would also urge the rider to make contact with us directly."

Anyone with information can call police on 101, quoting reference 44220271693, or they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.