Teen dies following e-scooter accident in Carlow

The incident occurred shortly after 8:30pm on Monday. Picture: Dan Linehan.

A teen has died following an e-scooter accident in Carlow Town.

The incident occurred shortly after 8:30pm on Monday, as Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports that two people had fallen from an e-scooter while travelling on Carpenters Way in Carlow Town.

One of the individuals, a 17 year-old boy, sustained serious injuries and was transported to St Luke’s Hospital before being transferred to Beaumont Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

A second young man, aged in his late teens, was medically assessed at the scene. He did not require immediate hospital treatment.

A Garda spokesperson said: "The scene remains preserved for forensic examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and the road is currently closed with local diversions in place."

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them. Road users with camera footage (including dash-cam) from Carpenters Way around the time of the collision are also asked to make this available to investigating Gardaí.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Carlow Garda Station on 059 913 6620, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly expressed his sympathies to the family of the 17-year-old boy.

"It was a terrible tragic incident yesterday for the family involved and my condolences certainly go to them," the commissioner said.

He said that, generally speaking, the policing response around scramblers and e-scooters has "certainly ramped up", on the back of new legislation.

The commissioner said that "many hundreds" of these vehicles have been seized in garda operations since the start of the year.

He also said they had invested in equipment that tests the speed of e-scooters.

"What I would say is, there is behaviour beyond policing, we need to look at societal behaviours, particularly around the use of scramblers in some residential areas," Mr Kelly said.

He said the force was looking at new technologies that might assist in tackling the problem, including the use of drones.

"Certainly, that is one potential solution for us and there are a number of other initiatives we are looking at around how we tackle this type of problem."