THE MOTHER of a two-year-old boy who was hit by an e-bike has slammed police – after the rider was let off.
Darcy Gore, 27, was “livid” after discovering that cops were not prosecuting the 65-year-old woman who struck her son Dylan Latham on a public footpath in Prestatyn, Wales last month.
6
6
6
North Wales Police issued an appeal to track down the e-bike rider – who fled the scene but came forward two days after the crash.
Dylan had to get more than a dozen stitches to his forehead and stay in hospital overnight, but officers did not pursue a criminal case against the e-biker.
Darcy told The Telegraph she cried after finding out cops even gave the woman her bike back.
She said: “If this collision involved a car where the driver left, not giving their details despite someone bleeding badly, I believe police would have treated it as a scene of crime.
“The injuries my son received were equivalent to those that could have been caused by a car.
“Let’s hope the next person she collides with on her bike on a footpath meant for pedestrians is lucky enough to survive.”
The mum claimed that police seemed “really angry” at first, but when they found out it was a 65-year-old woman and not a “teenage boy”, their “judgement of character completely changed”.
Darcy said she believes that police would have taken further action if it had been a young male riding the bike.
She and her partner Jordan Latham, 28, had been out at the Morfas football pitches with their three sons at the time of the incident.
Darcy spotted Dylan – her youngest – wandering onto a nearby footpath, before the cyclist “came flying down” and went “straight into him”.
She revealed how the child’s face was “covered” in blood and she feared that he had brain damage due to his severe concussion, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Darcy called her friends and heard claims that the woman got up after roughly five minutes and left on her bike, without leaving her name or contact information.
E-bike rules of the road
People aged 14 or over can ride an electric bike as long as it meets certain requirements.
These electric bikes are known as ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’ (EAPCs).
You do not need a licence to ride one and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured.
An EAPC must have pedals that can be used to propel it, and it must show either the power output or the manufacturer of the motor.
It must also show either the battery’s voltage, or the maximum speed of the bike.
Its electric motor must have a maximum power output of 250 watts and should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph.
An EAPC can have more than 2 wheels.
If a bike meets the EAPC requirements it is classed as a normal pedal bike. This means you can ride it on cycle paths and anywhere else pedal bikes are allowed.
Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed.
You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet.
Source: Gov.uk
Darcy said she was told that the e-bike had not been modified to exceed its 15.5mph speed limit.
The Sun has contacted North Wales Police for comment.
6
6
6
