A community in Southeast Washington is on edge after a 5-year-old boy riding an electric scooter was critically injured by a driver who sped off without stopping, leaving behind only a license plate number and a lot of unanswered questions.
The incident unfolded Friday night around 6:45 p.m. on Ridgecrest Court, inside a parking lot rather than on a public street. According to D.C. police, a driver was moving at a high rate of speed through the lot when the vehicle struck the child, who was riding his scooter nearby. The impact left the boy with life-threatening injuries, and he remains hospitalized in critical condition as of this weekend.
Instead of stopping to check on the child or call for help, the driver fled the scene, according to authorities. Investigators are now searching for a dark blue Nissan bearing a Virginia license plate reading TAK 9548. Anyone who spots the vehicle or has information about the driver’s identity is being urged to come forward.
What makes this case even more unsettling is that it isn’t an isolated one. Just a day earlier, on Thursday, a 9-year-old boy lost his life in a strikingly similar accident in Fairfax County. That child was riding an electric scooter when he collided with a minivan on Madden Court near Sully Square. Unlike the DC case, police said the minivan’s driver was following the speed limit and stayed at the scene to cooperate with investigators.
Officials also noted that the young victim in Fairfax was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash — a detail that has renewed attention on safety laws requiring anyone under 15 to wear a helmet while riding a scooter or bike.
With two children struck in scooter-related crashes within 48 hours, police in both jurisdictions are appealing to the public for tips. Anyone with information on either incident is asked to reach out to local authorities immediately.
