Teen dies in e-scooter crash at Mareeba, far north Queensland

Police have launched an investigation after a young man died in an e-scooter crash in regional Australia.

A young man has died after falling from an electric scooter in regional Queensland.

The crash tragic accident happened in the town of Mareeba, near Cairns, on Tuesday night.

A police spokeswoman told NewsWire, as of late Wednesday morning, the deceased male was yet to be identified.

Emergency services were called to Strattmann Street in Mareeba about 10.45pm.

Mareeba is about 60km west of Cairns.

The male suffered critical head injuries and died at the scene.

The spokeswoman said the police believe there were no other vehicles involved in the crash.

The forensic crash unit is investigating.

The tragic incident is the latest electric scooter crash to rock the country and follows the release of a report last week from doctors and researchers in Queensland highlighting the “significant risk” to children from e-scooters.

The report, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, analysed 176 child e-scooter injury cases that presented to Sunshine Coast University Hospital between January 2023 and December 2024.

The research found 71 per cent of cases were male, falls accounted for 78 per cent of crashes, while 13 per cent involved motor vehicles.

Helmet noncompliance was documented in 42 per cent of the presentations, 12 per cent involved doubling, and 36 per cent exceeded the 25km/h speed limit.

The fatal electric scooter crash happened on Tuesday night. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Further, fractures occurred in 37 per cent of cases, 18 per cent required computerised tomography scans and 11 per cent sustained life-threatening or potentially life-threatening injuries.

Queensland has suffered a spate of e-scooter deaths and the Queensland government is looking to significantly tighten rules.

Earlier this month, an 18-year-old male died after crashing his e-scooter on the Flinders Highway in Townsville.

That crash was also a single-vehicle incident.

Eight people died in e-scooter and e-bike crashes in Queensland in 2024.

Queensland and the ACT are the only jurisdictions that allow under-16s to ride e-scooters.

Queensland laws say anyone aged five to 15 must be supervised by an adult.

The City of Perth has indefinitely banned the hiring of e-scooters, after the death of a 51 year-old pedestrian last month.

A British working holiday-maker allegedly struck the man, and has been charged with death by dangerous driving while under the influence.

Last month, the Queensland government announced a parliamentary inquiry into e-mobility safety.

Originally published as Teen dies in e-scooter crash at Mareeba, far north Queensland