Schoolboy riding e-scooter died 'accidentally' after falling into path of bus, inquest hears

A schoolboy riding an e-scooter was killed accidentally after colliding with a pedestrian and falling into the path of an oncoming bus in Birmingham, an inquest was told.

Mustafa Nadeem, aged, 12, was on a Voi e-scooter travelling on a pavement near a crossing.

He then collided with a pedestrian who had just got off a bus on the B4128 in Bordesley Green at around 7.58am on 6 December, last year.

Detective sergeant Paul Hughes, from West Midlands Police, told the hearing at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner’s Court the bus and the rider were travelling well below the speed limit.

The bus driver said he was travelling at 8mph, the inquest was told.

A pedestrian said he felt a bump on his elbow before the crash as he waited at a traffic lights crossing.

Witnesses says they saw the collision before feeling "vibrations on the bus" and people were then heard shouting "stop the bus".

Professor Adrian Warfield said a digital post-mortem examination was carried out without the need for an intrusive examination.

The youngster suffered blunt force chest trauma, upper limb fractures and generalised contusions, abrasions and lacerations.

His death was caused by blunt force trauma and crush injuries by a vehicle. The medical cause of death is recorded as “multiple injuries.”

Voi’s UK’s general manager Jack Samler said the Voi trials started from 2020. The trial was always going to end in Birmingham in February 2023 and not as a result of Mustafa’s death.

In a statement, he said: "This is a tragic accident and our thoughts are with the family of Mustafa at this very distressing time.

"The coroner conducted a thorough investigation into how Mustafa accessed one of our e-scooters. 

"People under the age of 18 cannot legally access our scooters. We have an extra ID verification check in place over and above Department for Transport requirements, to prevent misuse of our e-scooters by people younger than 18 years old.

"We will review the conclusions of the coroner and work with the Department for Transport to see if there is anything more we and the industry can do to ensure underage people aged do not ride e-scooters."

Asked if he was aware of children were using e-scooters illegally, Mr Sadler said: "It is of concern. It’s difficult to say if this is endemic or isolated.

"Voi take this very seriously and do continually challenge ourselves on how to prevent underage riding of our e-scooters."

Mr Samler said a driving licence is used along with a selfie to verify the age of the Voi e-scooter rider at point of registration. This was set up by Mustafa’s friend’s dad in September 2022.

The account was later transferred to Mustafa’s friend’s phone. A verification code would have been sent to the dad’s phone

Trials in other locations in England and Wales are due to run until May 2024. They could then be extended or legalised. A different e-scooter provider will be operating the trial in Birmingham later this year.

A tribute given by the family said that Mustafa was "one of a kind".

Coroner James Bennett read out a pen portrait. He was described as a "young, loving boy of the Bordesley Green community. One of a kind, a child who always had a smile on his face."

He was "treasured and had a pure and innocent soul." The schoolboy was described as a "friendly and respectful boy".

A Transport for West Midlands spokesperson said: “We have listened to the evidence presented at the inquest into the tragic death of 12-year-old Mustafa Nadeem.  

“The issues raised have been taken into consideration in developing the new e-scooter trial and will continue to be reflected on as the scheme goes live. 

“One of the reasons a new operator was selected is that it offered the opportunity to try a significantly different approach and additional safety and security measures.

 “These include random selfie checks on account holders and verification when moving an account to a new device to assist in ensuring proper use.

 “As the new operator gets underway, we will be monitoring the scheme closely to ensure they are maintaining high health and safety standards.”