A 71-year-old Milwaukee woman is recovering in the hospital after a hit-and-run on a Brady Street sidewalk involving a Lime scooter rider who took off instead of sticking around.
The crash happened Tuesday morning while the woman was walking along the sidewalk. She was struck by someone riding a Lime scooter, and the rider fled. Friends told reporters she suffered fractures to her left wrist and elbow, needs plates inserted in her arm, and has already undergone surgery. Neighbors say high-speed scooter riding on sidewalks in the area is nothing new. As reported by CBS 58, the woman did not want to be identified.
City Data Fuels a Fresh Scooter Fight
The incident has poured gasoline on Milwaukee’s simmering scooter debate, especially after new city data showed rider warnings and penalties spiked in June.
According to Department of Public Works figures cited by WISN 12, Lime issued roughly 17,918 warnings in June, more than 3,100 fines and 33 bans. The city also recorded 18 scooter-related injuries that month. Those numbers are not exactly a gentle nudge toward better behavior.
Lime Says It Is Cracking Down Too
Company and city officials say they are teaming up to try to rein in unsafe riding and bad parking, with a mix of technology and targeted enforcement in problem areas.
In a statement to WISN 12, Lime’s regional government-relations lead said the company is working with the Department of Public Works to “mitigate sidewalk riding and improve parking, including tracking infractions for sidewalk riding and parking violations.”
Wider Safety Concerns Around E-Scooters
The Brady Street hit-and-run is part of a broader pattern that has trauma specialists sounding the alarm. Urban research on micromobility crashes shows they are driving a growing share of serious hospital admissions, and pedestrians struck by e-scooters can end up worse off than the riders themselves.
NYU Langone Health, which has published work on micromobility trauma, reports that pedestrians hit by e-scooters often suffer more severe brain injuries than riders. Their findings point to increasing demand for neurosurgical care and stronger prevention measures, underscoring why residents and officials are calling for faster, tougher enforcement (NYU Langone).
The latest case also follows a June collision downtown in which a Lime rider was charged with felony second-degree reckless injury after a crash that left a bar owner with spinal and other serious injuries, according to CBS 58. That high-profile incident, paired with this week’s hit-and-run, has Ald. Bob Bauman and neighbors pressing City Hall for changes to the city’s contract with Lime and harsher penalties for repeat offenders.
Aldermen and residents say they want clearer enforcement rules, higher fines that actually deter sidewalk riding, and more aggressive use of the detection tools Lime already has in place. City officials have told reporters they are open to renegotiating terms with the operator while the investigation into Tuesday’s hit-and-run remains active.
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