A 5-year-old child is fighting for life after an e-scooter carrying two young riders collided with an eastbound car near the 600 block of Center Road in Everett on Friday afternoon, authorities say. The 16-year-old also riding the scooter suffered serious injuries, while the driver and two young children inside the vehicle came away with minor injuries, according to officials.
Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies responded to the crash at approximately 2:22 p.m. on Oct. 23, according to myeverettnews.com, which reported that two children riding an e-scooter collided with a vehicle traveling east near Voyager Middle School. The 5-year-old and 16-year-old, along with the driver, were taken by aid to Providence Regional Medical Center for treatment, the outlet reported. The Seattle Times similarly reported that Snohomish County Sheriff's deputies attributed the collision details to a news release, noting the crash occurred Friday afternoon south of Everett and that hospital staff provided no updated patient condition when contacted the following day.
Accounts of the crash differ on a few key points. Myeverettnews.com reported that the vehicle driver and two young children inside the vehicle sustained minor injuries, while KOMO reported those two children in the vehicle suffered minor injuries but were not taken to the hospital at all — a detail the earlier report did not specify. KOMO also reported that investigators had not yet confirmed exactly how the collision occurred because they had not yet been able to speak with the 16-year-old.
Scene Shows Possible Rollover Near Apartment Complex
Television news coverage cited by the Seattle Times showed a vehicle flipped upside down by trees near an apartment complex, and myeverettnews.com similarly noted the car may have rolled over, citing a Snohomish Scanner Report that listed the crash as a rollover. mynorthwest.com reported that Center Road was expected to remain closed for several hours while investigators processed the scene.
Detectives with the sheriff's Collision Investigation Unit responded and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, the same myeverettnews.com report noted. No findings on cause or fault have been released in connection with Friday's crash.
A Painful Pattern in South Everett
Friday's crash is not the only serious e-bike or e-scooter incident tied to the area in recent memory. The Seattle Times reported that a 14-year-old boy died days after an e-bike collision with a Toyota Camry south of Everett, at 184th Street Southeast and 36th Avenue Southeast, according to reporting attributed to The Herald. The same Seattle Times report noted that another boy, age 13, suffered fatal injuries in 2025 when his e-bike struck a braided cable hanging from a city bollard in south Everett.
The pattern reflects a broader regional surge. Harborview Medical Center treated 252 patients for e-bike or e-scooter injuries in 2025, up from 77 in 2021, according to Axios. Six Harborview patients died from such injuries last year, compared with two in 2024, the outlet reported, while Lime riders logged more than 10.5 million trips in Seattle in 2025 — a 67% jump from the year before — alongside a 47% rise in injuries over the same period.
Young Riders Face Outsized Risk, Experts Say
Harborview trauma surgeon Sam Arbabi told KIRO 7 that younger riders are particularly vulnerable to serious trauma during impacts. Nationally, about 41% of all emergency-room visits for e-bike injuries in 2024 and 2025 involved patients ages 10 to 19, Axios reported, and researcher Beth Ebel told the outlet that speed is a major factor behind the rise in injury-causing crashes.
Harborview is the only Level 1 pediatric and adult trauma center in a region spanning Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, per Axios, meaning the most severely injured patients from across the Northwest can end up there. KIRO 7 separately reported that a 14-year-old boy struck by a car while riding an e-bike in Bothell was first taken to Providence Regional Medical Center before being transferred to Harborview.
What Everett's Rules Say About Young Riders
The City of Everett's own guidance on e-bikes and similar devices states that riders may only use devices that travel less than 20 mph, must wear a helmet, and that an adult must supervise any rider under 11, according to the City of Everett. It remains unknown whether those rules factored into Friday's crash, and no citations or findings had been announced as of this writing.
