Valley man dead following E-Scooter crash in San Diego

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- An East Valley man is killed in a scooter crash in San Diego, California.

The victim, identified as 47-year-old Brian Witzeman from Scottsdale, was riding the scooter on the Mission Beach Boardwalk when the crash happened. Witzeman is the son of Rural Metro Fire Department founder Lou Witzeman. Officials in San Diego said Witzeman and a friend were riding scooters when Witzeman lost control and crashed. Witzeman then fell and landed on his chest on the concrete.

Less than an hour later, Witzeman died at the hospital.

Electronic scooters are already in Scottsdale, Tempe, and Mesa. Now, Phoenix city leaders are talking about bringing them here, but this trend that's sweeping the nation has proven to result in an increase of accidents and even deaths. E-scooter crashes have kept the Emergency Room at Tempe St. Luke's Hospital very busy.

"We get one to three a day on a given day, sometimes increasing on the weekend," said ER Nurse Practitioner Justin Billingsley.

Billingsley said college students and young adults make up the majority of E-scooter patients in Tempe. Most suffer wrist or ankle fractures from falling, while some may suffer far worse.

"We actually had a brain bleed from the fall," said Billingsley. "They weren't able to protect themselves when they fell. They were transferred to a level one."

There are no known deaths related to E-scooter falls in the Valley so far, but Witzeman has become the second person in San Diego to die after an E-scooter accident.

"Standing upright on a scooter with smaller wheels with no stabilization abilities. It doesn't have shock absorbent," said Billingsley.

ER physicians recommend riders wear helmets and travel below the maximum speed to keep safe on a moving E-scooter.