CHS: 14-year-old dies in e-moto crash on stairs in I-5 Colonnade mountain bike park – UPDATE: RIP Çınar Doğan
A 14-year-old boy died Tuesday while riding an electric motorcycle in the I-5 Colonnade mountain bike park, Capitol Hill Seattle reported.
Our condolences to his friends and family.
UPDATE 7/10: The King County Medical Examiner has identified the child as Cnar Doan. A memorial is growing on a landing near the bottom of the Howe Street stairs. Loved ones have left notes, flowers and other personal items in his memory. There is also a GoFundMe campaign to support his family.
Near the bottom of the Howe Street stairs.
Initial reports stated the child was riding a bicycle, but Seattle Police told CHS that it was instead an electric motorcycle or e-moto. E-motos are not allowed to be used in Seattle Parks, though they are increasingly common:
A Seattle Fire spokesperson tells CHS the young rider died of his injuries.
Seattle Police and the King County Medical Examiner were at the scene to investigate. The crash was reported to have occurred within the park and did not involve a motor vehicle.
A chaplain was called to the scene to provide support.
KIRO 7 News reports that the crash occurred when the child was riding down a steep set of stairs. He was wearing a bicycle helmet, but not a motorcycle helmet.
I-5 Colonnade Park was a ground-breaking project when it opened in 2007, a pioneering and still rare urban mountain bike park. With designs by Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, the park provides a mostly-covered area for riding various mountain bike trail elements year-round on a steep hillside underneath the elevated freeway. It had fallen a bit into disrepair, but Evergreen and its volunteers renewed efforts to get it back into good shape in recent years while also installing a new pump track with funding from Seattle Parks, King County Parks and a few other sources.
No e-bikes or electric scooters of any kind are allowed in Seattle Parks, including the skills trails in I-5 Colonnade Park, unless they are on roads or multi-use trails.
The information about Tuesday's tragic crash is still early, and details often change once the final report is complete during the coming weeks. It is best to be cautious before jumping to conclusions.
It is also not yet clear exactly what type of device he was riding (UPDATE 7/9: To further make this point, CHS updated their post with a description from the police report describing the device vaguely as a motorized electric bicycle"). Some Class 2 electric bicycles are styled to look like motorcycles while some e-motos are styled to look like bicycles. It can be difficult to tell them apart just by looking at them, which is one source of confusion that has led to efforts in many states to place new restrictions on them. New Jersey passed an overreaching law that groups electric bicycles with mopeds. Washington State passed a law this year clarifying what exactly counts as an electric bicycle while also convening a task force to figure out the best course of action for regulating devices that exceed the electric bicycle power and speed limits. This tragedy will no doubt direct additional attention to the e-moto issue.
In Washington State, Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are limited to 20 mph. Anything with a throttle capable of powering itself beyond 20 mph is not an electric bicycle, and there are no devices that can be powered beyond 20 mph that are legal for Washington kids under 16 to ride. Class 3 electric bicycles are pedal-assisted (no throttle) and limited to 28 mph, but riders must be 16 though no drivers license is required. There are many devices available, especially through online sellers, that do not fit into any of the classes but are also not marketed as motorcycles. They may even be marketed as e-bikes." State law may not currently have clear definition for them, though many would likely qualify as electric motorcycles or mopeds. Mopeds require a driver's license while motorcycles require a license with a motorcycle endorsement. Neither are allowed on any park trails. Both mopeds and motorcycles require state registration, license plates and the use of motorcycle safety equipment. It is not always clear whether many of the devices for sale are even capable of being registered as motorcycles or mopeds, and it is common to see them operated on roads and trails without license plates. The issue is an extension of the long-running problem of people operating off-road-only dirt bikes on public roadways, but advances in electric motor and battery technology has made the devices easier to obtain and less conspicuous.