Fudou Stovell, 15, identified as victim of Broadbeach e-bike tragedy
A teenager who died in a horror e-bike crash is being remembered as a “lovely young man” and beloved friend, while police continue to investigate the tragedy.
A teenager who died in a horror e-bike crash on the Gold Coast is being remembered as a “lovely young man” who made everyone around him “feel so loved”.
Fudou Stovell was riding along a Broadbeach Blvd in Broadbeach about 3am on Saturday with a group of mates when he went over a raised pedestrian crossing and lost control, crashing into two poles.
He suffered catastrophic injuries.
A nearby police officer performed CPR but the 15-year-old died at the scene.
Tributes for the Worongary teenager have flooded social media, with videos shared on TikTok and Instagram of Fudou beaming as he kick starts a blue dirt bike and smiling and waving at the camera as he stands proudly next to another e-bike.
Other videos show him performing wheelies and burnouts with his friends, as he beams under his helmet.
“I can’t even comprehend this bro, I love you so much and I miss you endlessly,” one wrote in a TikTok caption.
“The fun memories we would also have and mucking around at school, you’re always making everyone around you feel so loved and you could always make us laugh.
“I just want you back bro, I can’t believe you’re just gone like that.”
“Fudou was one of the most talented riders I knew,” another friend said on TikTok.
A mother of one of Fudou’s friends described him as a “lovely young man”.
Dozens of flowers and written tributes have been left at the scene near the Broadbeach Surf Life Saving Club.
One boy, who said he was riding with group before the crash, said Fudou hit a smaller pole before he “went flying into a big pole”.
“We tried waking him up but he didn’t and we had to leave because we were scared the cops were going to catch us for riding them (the bikes),” he said.
Another boy said: “Watching you lay there limp broke something inside of me that I’ll never get back.”
“Please come back, all I want is for one more ride, one more wheelie, one more laugh, one more game … long live Fudou.”
Chief Superintendent Kylie Rigg said the crash would have been traumatic for the other riders.
“This sort of incident has terrible consequences for our community,” she said on Monday.
“Not only have we lost a young person, their families are now traumatised for the rest of their lives, as is the community who has to pick up the pieces.
“This young person was with a group of friends and no doubt the trauma from witnessing that incident will be with them for quite some time.”
When asked if the group had left following the crash, Superintendent Rigg said she understood “the group was with the male at the scene” but couldn’t comment as to what happened immediately after.
Despite claims online that police had “pursued the group” before the crash, Superintendent Rigg said police involvement had been investigated by the Ethical Standards Command.
“Police were not involved with this group of youths before, during or immediately after the crash,” she said.
“A highway patrol was undertaking a traffic intercept with another motorist.
“While he was speaking with that motorist, a group of youths has gone past on these e-bikes and shortly after he has heard a crash.
“The officer has immediately stopped that intercept and gone to render assistance.”
Superintendent Rigg said the bike involved was a SurRon Ultra Bee Electric Dirt Bike, which can retail for up to $10,000.
“(The bike) had no pedals, it is a trail bike that can be ridden on the dirt,” she said.
“It is illegal for use on the road way.”
Police are continuing to investigate the crash, including why the group were out at that time of the morning.
Mr Stovell was the second young person to die on an e-bike in Queensland in two days, after eight-year-old Zeke Hondow was killed in an e-bike collision on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday.
The deaths have prompted renewed calls for the government to act on the use of e-bikes and electric motorbikes by young people.
