Woman riding e-scooter in Midtown taken off life support after hit-and-run

ATLANTA — A mother of two from Alabama was taken off of life support late Friday days after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding an electric scooter in Midtown, her family told Channel 2 Action News.

Amber Ford, 34, who worked as a nurse, was hit about 10 p.m. Thursday while riding the scooter on 14th Street near Crescent Avenue, Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos said.

"Amber was always willing to help others and give to those who needed it most," an organizer posted on the GoFundMe campaign created to cover expenses while she was in intensive care. "Today, she was able to continue that legacy by donating her organs to save the lives of others. She is not gone; she will live though her donors and she will continue to live in our hearts."

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Police said Ford died of her injuries Thursday, but she remained on life support while doctors prepared to harvest her organs, her husband said. Investigators are treating the wreck as a fatality investigation, according to Campos.

Justin Ford, who was riding on another scooter about 50 feet ahead of his wife, said the driver of the dark-colored sedan that struck the woman never slowed down.

The two were on their way back to their hotel after their out-of-town date, he said, and were riding in the street because people had complained about them being on the sidewalk earlier in the evening.

Amber Ford's organs could save the lives of eight other people, he said.

Her death marks the third e-scooter fatality in Atlanta since the popular mode of transportation arrived in the city last year, police said.

The first occurred in May when a 20-year-old man was struck by a Cadillac SUV as he left a MARTA station. The driver of the vehicle, 36-year-old Narcory Wright, was later arrested on misdemeanor charges of second-degree homicide by vehicle and speeding in connection with the deadly wreck.

The second e-scooter fatality occurred July 17 when a 37-year-old Atlanta man fell while riding next to a CobbLinc bus and got run over, police said. No charges were filed against the bus driver.

Atlanta is one of many cities across the U.S. grappling with how to regulate scooters.

First deployed by Bird in the spring of 2017 in California, the devices quickly became so popular that the number of companies operating them skyrocketed as the devices spread all over the world.

E-scooters arrived in Atlanta in May 2018 and were largely unregulated until the Atlanta City Council approved legislation in January requiring scooter companies to obtain permits and submit monthly data to the city about their use.

And after a 10-month grace period, city officials recently announced that police would begin cracking down on people caught riding on sidewalks instead of in the street.

"If you're using anything with wheels to get around Midtown or downtown Atlanta, we ask that you be in the street following the rules of the road and staying with the flow of traffic," Atlanta police Maj. Darin Schierbaum said in June.

Fines for those caught riding on sidewalks could range as high as $1,000, authorities said.

But after two fatalities involving vehicles, protesters took to the streets demanding safer places to ride scooters and bicycles.

Late last month, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed an executive order prohibiting the city's planning department from issuing new permits to companies that operate electronic scooters. The order does not apply to the nine companies that already have permits to operate in Atlanta.

Cox Media Group