An 11-year-old Baytown Township boy was left in critical condition after a small SUV struck him while he was riding his electric scooter Wednesday morning at the intersection of 40th Street North and Paradise Avenue North. First responders administered CPR at the scene before rushing him by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The crash remains under investigation by both local and state authorities.
According to Pioneer Press, the crash happened around 8:15 a.m. when a 57-year-old Baytown Township woman was driving a 2018 Audi Q5 east on 40th Street as the boy traveled northbound on Paradise Avenue North. Washington County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Mike Benson said the SUV struck the boy at the intersection, where Paradise Avenue North has a stop sign. The Minnesota State Patrol has been requested to assist with crash reconstruction as investigators work to piece together exactly how the collision unfolded.
The boy was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, per Benson. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, and Benson said the outcome would have been different without one — a detail that underscores just how much protective gear can matter in these collisions.
A Pattern of Rising Injuries Among Young Riders
The Baytown Township crash lands amid a broader surge in e-bike and e-scooter injuries across Minnesota. Regions Hospital reported that e-bike-related emergency-room admissions climbed from two in 2023 to nine in 2024 and 18 through November of last year, the same report notes that e-scooter-related admissions rose from 20 in 2023 to 24 in 2024 and 36 over that same stretch, according to twincities.com. Nearly one-third of people treated at Regions last year for e-bike injuries were children and teens, the outlet reported.
A separate accounting from the Star Tribune found Regions logged at least 54 trauma cases tied to e-bikes or e-scooters in 2025, up from 22 in 2023. During one six-month stretch, e-bike crashes sent 466 people to Minnesota hospitals and clinics while 639 were treated for e-scooter injuries, with more than 100 admitted because of the severity of their injuries, per that report.
Conflicting Numbers on Helmet Use
Just how many injured riders were wearing helmets depends on which report you read. The twincities.com report states nearly 60% of e-scooter cases at Regions involved riders who were not wearing helmets, and that those who did wear helmets experienced significantly fewer head injuries, with some well enough to go home the same day. The Star Tribune's account, however, says helmet use was documented for only one in 20 e-scooter crash victims at Regions — a discrepancy the two outlets have not reconciled.
A retrospective review of 103 pediatric patients hospitalized with e-scooter-related injuries between 2018 and 2024, published by pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, adds to a growing body of research on how often young riders end up hospitalized after these crashes.
Other Young Riders Have Died in Similar Crashes
Wednesday's crash echoes other recent tragedies involving young e-scooter riders in the region. Stella Michels, 14, died at a St. Paul hospital in January 2025 after an electric-scooter accident in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, the previous August, per twincities.com's same report. And an 8-year-old boy was hit and killed while riding an e-scooter in Brooklyn Park, according to fox9.com.
What Minnesota Law Says About Scooters
Under Minnesota law, operating a motorized foot scooter on a sidewalk is generally prohibited, except when necessary to enter or leave adjacent property, according to the Minnesota Revisor's Office. The law does not resolve whether the Baytown Township crash involved any violation, and investigators have not said whether the scooter's use complied with applicable rules. The Washington County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota State Patrol continue to investigate the crash, and no additional details about the boy's condition have been released since Wednesday afternoon.
