CLINTON, Mass. — The parents of a teenager say their son is lucky to be alive after he was hit by a car while riding an E-Scooter on Wednesday night.
Jackson Dougas, 13, told Boston 25 he was riding a friend’s E-Scooter down High Street in Clinton around 6 pm at roughly 35 mph.
He said a car in front of him stopped and took a right — sending him over the hood, into the air, and colliding with a parked car.
Dougas woke up in an ambulance.
“I kind of was like, ‘There’s no way this is real because it happened so quick,’” he said. “The car turned into me, and I flew over the car and then I passed out.”
His mother Rebecca Marotta called his father Anthony Dougas after she received multiple alerts on her phone about the incident Wednesday night.
The two rushed to the scene where they found Jackson being treated.
Marotta remembered, “[Jackson’s] whole face was covered in blood but his helmet because it protected [his head]... It was the only half that had no injuries on it or blood.”
Jackson was rushed to the hospital suffering from several injuries including a broken collar bone.
The 13-year old was released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
Meanwhile, lawmakers on Beacon Hill heard testimony about a piece of legislation that’s aimed at preventing these incidents.
The “Ride Safe Act” would regulate where and how E-Bikes, mopeds, and E-Scooters operate. It would also regulate devices based on speed rather than device type.
[ New rules for E-bikes could be on the way in Massachusetts ]
MBTA’s Phillip Eng and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll spoke on behalf of the “Ride Safe Act” Thursday.
Driscoll explained, “This is an affordable mode of transportation that the current laws have not kept pace with in terms of how to enforce where they should go, what you need in terms of requirements for riding them to ensure everybody’s safe.”
Eng added, “We’re seeing different communities with different thoughts on how to set up standards, and this will actually help and facilitate consistency across the commonwealth.”
Dougas’ parents said they are in favor of the legislation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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