A juvenile riding an e-scooter north on Vargrave Street near Mock Street was struck by a vehicle traveling the same direction around 8:19 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, and left with life-threatening injuries after the driver sped off without stopping. The juvenile remains hospitalized, and police have since arrested a 31-year-old Winston-Salem resident in connection with the crash.
Officers Found the Teen in the Roadway
Police officers responding to the reported crash found the injured juvenile lying in the roadway on Vargrave Street, as ABC45 reported. The juvenile was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and remained hospitalized, per the WXII 12 report. The e-scooter itself was found a short distance from where the juvenile was located, as reported by ABC45.
The driver did not remain at the scene and fled the area, that outlet noted. Investigators did not immediately have a suspect, but after further work, the vehicle and driver involved in the crash were located early Monday morning, the same account states.
Driver Arrested on Felony Charge
Fajardo Afmari Zelestino, 31, was arrested and charged with felony hit and run, and was given a $25,000 bond, per the same account. FOX8 identified the suspect vehicle as a 2014 Lexus and named the driver as 31-year-old Afmari Zelestino Fajardo of Winston-Salem — a naming variation that differs slightly from the wording used elsewhere in coverage of the case. The Winston-Salem Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit is investigating the crash, FOX8 reports, and police are withholding the juvenile's name while the investigation remains active.
Anyone with information has been asked to call the Winston-Salem Police Department's non-emergency number at 336-773-7700.
Similar Scooter Hit-and-Runs Elsewhere
The Winston-Salem case echoes a similar incident just days earlier in Branford, Connecticut, where police said a vehicle struck a juvenile riding an e-scooter on Pine Orchard Road and left the scene, according to WFSB. Surveillance video in that case showed a white Subaru SUV stop after the collision before driving away, the station reported. That juvenile was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital's pediatric unit and listed in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver in the Connecticut case, 82-year-old Joan Lindell of Branford, was charged with driving under the influence, risk of injury in the first degree, assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle, and evading responsibility, and was held on $50,000 bail, per WFSB.
Scooter Crashes on the Rise Statewide
Hit-and-runs involving e-scooters aren't isolated incidents in North Carolina. ABC11 found that more than 300 scooter crashes have occurred across the state since 2018, concentrated mostly in Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham, with 74 crashes reported to the North Carolina Department of Transportation in one recent year — a 40% jump from 2019. WakeMed alone has treated around 600 patients for scooter-related injuries since 2021, and nationwide emergency-room visits for scooter injuries tripled between 2017 and 2020, that outlet reported.
Much of that broader injury data, however, involves falls and collisions that don't involve cars at all — ABC11 cited research finding that 90% of scooter injuries happen off the road, with first-time riders accounting for 30% of scooter-related hospital injuries nationwide. The Winston-Salem case stands apart as a vehicle-involved hit-and-run now under active investigation by the Traffic Enforcement Unit.
