‘Lucky to be alive’: 15yo cheats death in horror e-scooter crash

Corey Kassulke was found unconscious on the side of a busy road, north of Brisbane, after he swerved to avoid pedestrians and crashed his e-scooter straight into a telegraph pole – at speed.

Corey suffered serious head injuries including multiple skull fractures and a brain bleed. Picture: Supplied

Corey Kassulke can’t remember much from August 27 but his mum remembers every horrifying details.

The 15-year-old had been found unconscious on the side of busy Buchanan Rd, Morayfield, north of Brisbane, after he crashed his e-scooter while on the way to visit a friend.

Piecing together the final minutes before the crash from witnesses and police, it appears Corey had swerved to avoid pedestrians along the footpath and caught too much speed before he went headfirst over the scooter and straight into a telegraph pole.

Corey suffered serious head injuries including multiple skull fractures and a brain bleed. Picture: Supplied.

“I felt like at the time I had lost him because he looked like he was in a coma and talking to the doctors that were unsure he could stay out of ICU,” Kellie Williams said.

“We’re just lucky he’s alive at the end of the day.”

Corey was unconscious for more than eight minutes and suffered several skull fractures and bleeding on the brain which left him fighting for life. He spent a week in hospital.

Prior to the accident Corey was hoping to start an apprenticeship, but now due to ongoing health issues, including memory loss and vision impairment, his future is unclear.

“At the start he couldn’t even remember if he had brothers, I was scared. He now has double vision on the right side, which is the impact side, so I’m really worried for the future because he really wants to drive a car … at this rate it’s just really uncertain how far or how much it’s going to take for him to ever get that (vision) back,” she said.

Ms Williams said hearing about other e-scooter crashes, including one that took the life of another 15-year-old boy just 4km from where Corey had his accident, really hit home.

Corey’s mother is terrified her son will get on another e-scooter. Picture: Supplied

“I was just crying because I thought that could have been us. He (Corey) doesn’t understand, he’s just a child, they think they’re invincible … I couldn’t imagine losing my child,” she said.

Ms Williams thinks there needs to be tougher regulations around ownership of e-mobility devices, particularly when it comes to teenagers.

“You’re on the road with cars, for me that’s a big thing … when they’re dealing with the roads and the way these kids are driving them with no fear at all and no safety equipment.

“There should be age restrictions where you need to be old enough and also the need to register it,” Ms Williams said.

The crash caused serious head injuries. Picture: Supplied

While her son cannot ride or wear a helmet for six months, Ms Williams fears there will be little stopping her teenage son from getting back on an e-scooter in the future.

“I go to work on a daily with anxiety … that’s the most fearful part for me, I’m not there to physically rip him off of it. I can’t keep him from seeing his friends and having a social life but at the same time I just want to wrap him in bubble wrap,” she said.