ATLANTA — Police believe they've determined what happened just moments before a man riding an e-scooter was hit and killed by a bus in Midtown earlier this month.
Officers arrived near West Peachtree and 15th Streets on July 17 to find William Alexander stuck under a CobbLinc bus.
First responders struggled to get Alexander from under the bus, and after trying several times, Alexander died at the scene from his injuries.
A police report says that the bus was trying to make a right-hand turn onto 15th from West Peachtree. As the driver of the bus made her turn, police said the scooter rider drove off the sidewalk and into the road and got caught between the right side of the bus and barricades.The rider then reportedly ran into the side of the bus as it continued the right turn, and at some point the rider fell into the path of the rear wheels.
Video from the accident and witness interviews also led investigators to decide they will not be pursuing criminal charges against the driver of the bus.
This is believed to be the second person killed while riding on a dockless electric scooter this year. A 20-year-old rider was killed back in May near West Lake Avenue and Browning Street when a Cadillac hit him.
The accidents prompted cyclists and pedestrians to hold a protest on a busy Midtown Atlanta street Wednesday afternoon. The protest was to raise awareness for the people that motorists share the road with, and to urge lawmakers to get the special lanes made that they have been asking for, for many years.
While that more permanent fix may not be a reality, yet, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order Thursday that will put a temporary freeze on any new companies seeking to get permits for "shareable dockless mobility devices" in Atlanta.
The freeze will be in effect until the next meeting of the Atlanta City Council on Aug. 5 when it is expected that the council will make it permanent.
The order will not affect companies already deploying the scooters in Atlanta.
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