A former Middleburg High School football player is fighting for his recovery after losing control of an electric scooter while hanging out with friends earlier this month, and the Clay County community has responded with prayers, counselors, and more than $14,000 in donations. Kadin Hanifen was seriously injured in the crash, which happened on South Deer Avenue, and he remains at the center of a fast-growing show of local support.
According to News4JAX, the Clay County Sheriff's Office responded to the e-scooter incident on South Deer Avenue last Friday. Hanifen lost control of the scooter while spending time with friends, and the crash caused serious injuries as well as unexpected medical expenses for his family. The sheriff's office said the incident was not considered a traffic crash, and News4JAX reported it had requested the full incident report.
Hanifen graduated from Middleburg High School, according to Clay County District Schools, which also said it has provided support and counselors for students and staff processing the news. Before his time at Middleburg, where he played linebacker, defensive end, and tight end for the Broncos, Hanifen had also played football at Bishop Snyder High School in Jacksonville, per Prep Redzone. Middleburg High serves more than 1,800 students in Clay County under the district's oversight, per Clay County District Schools.
Community Support Pours In Online and In Person
A GoFundMe fundraiser was set up for Hanifen, and it had raised more than $14,000 as of Thursday. The organizer thanked everyone who has given, shared, prayed, or simply thought of Kadin and his family during the ordeal, the fundraiser page states.
Hanifen had also been working part-time since March for Jacksonville-based business DigIn Jax LLC, whose owners publicly called on the community for support with his medical recovery, according to a post on Facebook. Friends are set to host a gather-and-pray event for Hanifen Thursday at 7 p.m. in the front visitor's parking lot of Orange Park Hospital, where he is being treated.
A Level II Trauma Center at the Heart of Recovery Efforts
HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, the site chosen for the prayer gathering, is a facility with more than 400 beds and operates the only state-certified Level II Trauma Center in Clay County, according to HCA Florida Healthcare. That designation means the hospital is equipped to handle severe injuries requiring immediate, comprehensive trauma care, which speaks to the severity of Hanifen's condition following the crash.
Florida's E-Scooter Rules and a Growing National Safety Concern
Hanifen's crash adds to a wider pattern of serious e-scooter injuries among young riders that Hoodline has tracked in recent weeks. Under Florida Statute § 316.2128, e-scooters are legally classified as micromobility devices, giving riders the same rights and duties as bicyclists while exempting them from requirements for a driver's license, vehicle registration, or auto insurance, according to the Florida Senate. State law caps scooter speeds at 20 mph on level ground and allows them on roads with speed limits up to 30 mph or in designated bike lanes, per the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, unless local ordinances say otherwise.
Notably, Florida Statute § 316.2065 only requires helmets for bicycle and micromobility riders under 16, meaning older teens and adults like Hanifen are not legally required to wear one, according to The Farber Law Firm. That legal gap comes as national injury data climbs sharply: a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report from April found that nationwide emergency department visits tied to e-scooters jumped from under 30,000 in 2020 to 118,485 in 2024. The same CPSC data tracking incidents from 2017 through 2024 recorded 206 e-scooter-related fatalities nationwide, with loss of control and motor vehicle collisions identified as the leading hazard patterns.
Head injuries remain a particular concern among these crashes. A 2026 report from ERideHero, analyzing federal emergency department figures, found that 20.2% of all U.S. electric scooter injuries in 2025 — representing 33,404 emergency visits — involved trauma to the head.
For now, the Clay County community continues to lean on prayer and fundraising as Hanifen's recovery continues, with friends, former teammates, and neighbors gathering to support the family through what has become a costly and uncertain medical journey.
