ATLANTA — The family of Eric Amis Jr. is asking legislators to ban scooters from the road after he was hit and killed by a car while riding a Lime scooter early Friday,
Amis Jr. was leaving the West Lake MARTA station just after midnight when he was hit by an SUV.
The deadly crash was the first involving a dockless electric scooter investigated by Atlanta police.
Dozens of family members and friends gathered to remember him on Thursday
“Lord God knows we wish he would have walked home that night,” said the victim’s uncle David Roy, a pastor. “He was a giant of a young man, and he was going places."
TRENDING STORIES:
Amis Jr. arrived at the West Lake Transit Station, grabbed a scooter, was just minutes from home when he pulled out into the road, obeying the law.
The driver stayed on the scene and police haven't determined if she will face any charges.
Now, the family knows their loved one has the distinction of being the first e-scooter fatality, but they say it will not be in vain.
“He was being law-abiding and doing what the law said, that he had to be in the street,” Roy said.
Changing that point is what the family believes is now their purpose, to keep others from suffering this same fate.
“I know that they're a convenience for people but we want them taken off the roads,” Roy said. "I don't want them on the street at all, after what happened to my nephew. I would like to not ever see one on the street."
They are talking with legislators about changes, like training for riders and mandatory helmet use.
“I hope that through our family, there will be laws changed and hopefully make it a little more difficult or hopefully impossible for this to happen again,” Roy said. “If I could just make it where no other child and no other family goes through this, then this will not be in vain.”
Regulations from January require scooter riders to ride on the street and not the sidewalks.
Amis Jr.'s family is collecting signatures for a petition that calls for the city to reconsider allowing scooters on the street.
"He just died like a dog in the middle of the street and something needs to be done about it," Roy said.
Cox Media Group
