Photo credit: The New York Times
A 26-year-old New York City television reporter died Saturday after the moped she was riding, along with a 26-year-old man, crashed in Brooklyn, throwing them into the street.
The victim was Nina Kapur, a reporter for CBS2 in New York, according to the New York Times. She was the passenger on an electric Revel moped, a popular Vespa-like vehicle that can be rented for short periods of time.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. on the evening of Saturday, July 18, at the intersection of Franklin and India Streets in Brooklyn. According to officials, the operator of the moped had swerved and lost control of the vehicle for an unknown reason and the two passengers fell into the street. Officials have not confirmed whether either passenger was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, though each Revel scooter provides two helmets for its riders.
Kapur was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. The unidentified male 26-year-old driver suffered minor injuries.
Revel launched in Brooklyn in 2018, according to CNN. People who want to rent a moped pay a small fee and provide their driver’s license information before they can rent it. A spokesperson for Revel told the New York Times that Kapur’s death is the first fatality Revel has seen in over three million rides.
As people become more hesitant to use public transportation during the coronavirus pandemic, they are more often turning to rented transportation options such as Revel, Lime, and Bird. But this accident sheds light on safety issues that the company needs to address and rules (such as wearing the provided helmet) that need to be enforced. The Times reported that Revel sent an email to its New York City riders recently addressing the fact that they suspended over 1,000 riders in a month for bad behavior and rule-breaking.
Kapur’s death occurred on the same day that a 38-year-old man suffered a head injury after falling from his Revel scooter in Queens. The Times reported that he was in critical condition receiving treatment at Elmhurst Hospital.
It is not yet clear whether Kapur’s family will take legal action against Revel.
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