Woman Injured At E-Scooter Launch Event In Brookline

BROOKLINE (CBS) -- A woman was injured while participating in an e-scooter demonstration in Brookline Monday. The town is the first in Mass. to launch a rentable e-scooter program.

She was treated on the scene and then taken away in an ambulance but is expected to be OK.

The woman was wearing a helmet.

Heather Hamilton of the Brookline Board of Selectmen said, "I would just urge everyone to go slow. If you have not ridden on a scooter like this, practice before you just take it out on the road. That's why we started in a parking lot."

Scott Englander of the Brookline Transportation Board was one of the first to take a ride. "I think it's just a very practical option," he said. "I've used scooters when I've traveled elsewhere, like Mexico City for example. I think it's great to have yet another way for people to travel sustainably around town."

But the scooters don't come without risk. According to Consumer Reports, an estimated 1,500 people across the country have been hurt in an e-scooter-related crash since late 2017.

Neil Wishinsky, of the Board of Selectmen, stood by the town's decision. "It's been a success in other communities around the country and around the world. And I don't see why it can't be a success here."