Woman hospitalized after being hit by e-scooter in West Hollywood

A woman who was hurt by an e-scooter on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood wants to warn others of the dangers of motorized scooters to pedestrians.

Nicole Stevens was severely injured in December after being hit by a man on a motorized scooter on the sidewalk. The crash resulted in Stevens suffering a fractured scull and brain swelling. 

"She turns around to walk," said the victim's friend, Loely Burgos. "There's a person coming at 20 miles per hour, bam, hits her and she goes flying backwards." 

The man on the scooter, which was not a rental, took off on it shortly after the accident, Burgos said. 

"E-scooters are not supposed to be on the sidewalk," she said. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed they are illegal to ride on the sidewalk and should be driven at a max speed of 15 miles per hour. Violators can face citations. 

Stevens is still recovering in the hospital as her medical bills pile up, Burgos told KCAL News on Thursday. 

In a statement West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson said: 

Pedestrians face many issues. While one being scooters, the other one is of course cars, and the statistics of people getting hit by cars is overwhelming (both on bikes, in the crosswalks, and on scooters) across LA County.