A woman in her 60s riding an e-bike was badly hurt earlier this week, and now investigators in that North County city are asking for the public's help investigating the incident.
Carlsbad police said the 61-year-old woman was riding the bike near Ponto Drive, which is north of Poinsettia Lane in southern Carlsbad around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday when the crash occurred. She was out cold when first responders arrived, according to Carlsbad police.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
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The incident echoes another recent e-bike incident in August.
On Aug. 9, 35-year-old mother Christine Hawk Embree was killed while riding her e-bike when she was hit by a car. Her 16-month-old riding on the back of the bike was not injured. At the time, Carlsbad police said the driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with their investigation. Police did not confirm if the driver ran a stop sign or was speeding, but did say alcohol or drugs were not a factor in the crash. Her death came just weeks after her husband had appeared before the city council to call for traffic safety.
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In May, Carlsbad enacted a series of laws in the hopes of creating a safer environment for people in the North County city. The regulations targeted unsafe operators of e-bikes and bikes, as well as motorized scooters and other similar vehicles, including Segways and electrically motorized skateboards. Violators will receive a citation or, in some cases, be offered the option to take a safety course.
Then, in late August, the city of Carlsbad declared a state of emergency after a spike in crashes involving bikes and e-bikes that has led to calls for traffic safety changes. The city cited a 233% increase in traffic collisions involving bikes and e-bikes since 2019. Since the beginning of 2022, there have been 57 collisions involving bikes and e-bikes reported in Carlsbad. Of the collisions this year, two have been fatal crashes, both in the past 17 days according to Carlsbad city manager Scott Chadwick.
Anybody who witnessed the incident on Tuesday is being asked to call the officer investigating the incident at 442-339-2282. He can also be reached at matt.bowen@carlsbadca.gov
