Austin Police Provide Details On Deadly Scooter Crash

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Police on Monday disclosed details surrounding the death of a young man who was using a scooter when he was struck by a vehicle over the weekend.

The incident occurred on Friday, Feb. 1, just before 1 a.m. along the 500 block of North Interstate 35 service road going southbound at East 6th Street. According to police, a 2006 silver Volkswagen Jetta was traveling southbound in the right lane of the highway service road before changing lanes to enter the ramp of southbound I-35.

That's when the driver, who was driving for Uber at the time, encountered the electric Lime scooter traveling the wrong way while northbound in the southbound left lane of the I-35 service road, police said.

The scooter rider was rushed to Dell Seton Medical Center for treatment but succumbed to his injuries at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, police said. The victim, Mark Sands, was 21 years old. Police noted the driver of the car remained on the scene to cooperate in the police investigation.

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Police continue to investigate the case. Anyone with information should call APD’s Vehicular Homicide Unit Detectives at (512) 974-5576. Those with information also can submit tips by downloading APD’s mobile app, Austin PD, for free on iPhone and Android.

According to reports in Irish media, Sands was a foreign exchange student studying computer science. AGoFundMe page has been set up to help defray the young Irishman's medical and funeral costs. “If you've ever been lucky enough to meet Mark you've surely noticed his constant smile," a description on the funding campaign site reads. “He was one of the most charming and amusing people you will ever meet. Mark never met a stranger or someone he didn't like. He had a passion for everyone he knew, and he always looked out for others. However, in this moment, he needs us to look out for him.”

Sands was heavily involved with the "Iron Spikes" philanthropic organization at UT-Austin, an honorary men's service and spirit organization founded in 1994 to serve the University and Central Texas region through active philanthropy, according to the fundraising site.

“We have each other's backs at all times, and we will not let Mark go through this alone," the GoFundMe page reads. "Spikes, please do anything you can to help him and his family--whether it be donating here or ensuring his family is taken care of while they're in Austin."

At last check, the fundraising campaign had collected $18,792 of a $20,000 goal.

After Sands' death, his mother provided an update on the page: "This is Mark's Mum here. We are overwhelmed by all your support. Your comments are uplifting and a great comfort to us. Mark's organs are being harvested at 10 a.m. here, 4 p.m. Irish time. Could you please play the U2 song Elevation and take a few minutes to remember him? It was a very special song between Mark and I and one I was going to dance with him at his wedding and do our goofy dance. It would mean a lot to me."

The incident marked Austin’s fifth fatal traffic crash of 2019, resulting in four fatalities this year. At this time in 2018, police added, police added, there were six fatal traffic crashes and seven traffic fatalities.

The crash has the further distinction of being the second death of a scooter rider in Austin in as many years. In December 2017, a 25-year-old man was killed as he negotiated around cars while on a scooter along the 10700 block of North Lamar Boulevard in North Austin. Police said the man veered onto the opposite lanes of traffic before being struck by a vehicles and dying at the scene.

Like the most recent scooter death this past weekend, the one two years ago also occurred at night, both at around 1 a.m, according to a police advisory at the time. Yet despite the preponderance of scooter accidents occurring at night — and their stealthy, questionably lighted nature — the City of Austin doesn't ban nighttime riding.

Despite their growing frequency, it's hard to keep track of scooter-related injuries. Patch reached out to the Austin Police Department to learn if law enforcement officials have been compiling scooter incident data in order to discern patterns related to the times of day of each incident. "There’s no title code for a scooter involved in a crash so we don’t have a way to track that data," came the reply to a Patch email.

Patch has also reached out to Austin-Travis County EMS officials — typically the first responders dealing with such injuries — but a response was not immediately received. More light could be shed related to scooter-related injuries via a study currently being conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last month, local officials announced the launch of the CDC study to take a closer look at scooter injury data.

The allure of late nighttime riding is strong among many scooter users, particularly young riders that appear to be largely college-aged customers. Despite the risks of scooter use, it's rare to find users wearing helmets even as their use is strongly encouraged by scooter providers and emergency agencies as it relates to use of the electric contraptions capable of reaching some 20 miles per hour (sometimes faster).

In response to an emailed query, an Austin Police Department spokeswoman told Patch the young man who died while riding a scooter this past weekend was not wearing a helmet at the time.

Lime introduced its scooters to the Austin market in April 2018. In a press release sent to Patch at the time, the company touted its scooters while noting Austin was one of the first five cities to get them. Like some half-dozen other scooter providers who have entered the market, Lime touted its scooters as tools to help ease traffic congestion in offering riders another transportation option.

"Lime-S further positions Austin as a hub of innovation in Texas and the U.S. LimeBike’s electric scooters have the potential to dramatically enhance mobility in Austin by taking cars off the road and expanding Austin’s transportation options,” LimeBike Regional General Manager Anthony Fleo said in a prepared statement at the time.

The company released a video at the time, serving as something of a primer for would-be clients:

Since then, several more scooter providers have entered the market — flooding the city with some 14,000 electric scooters in Austin from among the various companies. Since April alone, more than 2.6 million rides have been taken on electric scooters, according to Austin Transportation Department data.

In that time, several scooter injuries — some of them quite serious — have been reported among users. Last August, a woman was left with critical, life-threatening injuries after a tumble along the 1100 block of South Congress in South Austin while riding a Lime scooter. Lime officials released a statement after that serious injury that highlighted their insistence on safety while riding their scooters:

"Rider safety is our number one priority, which is why we urge riders to practice safe riding using helmets both in notices on the app and on the actual scooter," Mary Caroline Pruitt said. "In order to unlock a Lime scooter for the first time, all riders must go through an in-app tutorial that includes helmet safety. We're constantly developing and implementing tools in the app to further promote safe riding and scooter use, and will continue to keep the safety of the community our top priority."

Two months after that incident, Lime and its industry rival, Bird, were named in a lawsuit amid a rise in injuries. The lawsuit against the two biggest firms providing app-secured electric scooters for a per-minute riding fee filed on Friday accused the two biggest providers of "gross negligence" that's resulted in a number of injuries to both pedestrians and riders, according to a report in the Washington Post. The lawsuit also named scooter manufacturers Segway and Xiaomi.

In light of the growing rate of injuries — and the inconvenience of errant scooters left on property after their use — other Texas cities and entities have taken steps to curb the trend. The University of Texas at Austin since September 2018 has been impounding improperly parked scooters, doling out $150 fines to operators, plus an additional $25 for each day of storage.

Lime officials said they would work with the UT Parking and Transportation Services department to educate students on proper scooter riding and parking, launching in-app messages to its customers in and around campus in conjunction with UT's internal communications department. Moreover, Lime noted Lime team members are continually dispatched to remove any scooters found improperly parked. "We also continue to work with the Austin Transportation Department and Austin Police Department on new, innovative ways to educate and support our riders."

In neighboring San Antonio, property managers of the popular mixed-use development The Pearl have banned scooters on the property. In nearby New Braunfels, officials have banned the electric devices for 90 days for further assessment. In recent news, the city of Corpus Christi is currently writing regulations over scooter given the arrival of providers Bird and Blue Duck. City officials said they are looking to Austin and San Antonio to inform their launch of a pilot program for scooter use.

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>>> Photo of Mark Sands via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner