A 53-year-old Woodstock man died last week after crashing a rented scooter into a tree in downtown San Diego.
Christopher Conti was seriously injured in the Wednesday night crash and died Friday as a result of his injuries, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. According to his family, he sustained massive brain trauma and was removed from life support.
He was in San Diego on business when he and a friend decided to rent a scooter to see the city, his family said on Facebook. Conti was the owner of Innovative Fitness Solutions in Kennesaw, which assists with the design and outfitting of fitness centers. His sister-in-law, Carrie Conti, said the crash was an accident.
Conti was riding along a sidewalk and hit a tree while trying to navigate a left turn, police told the Union-Tribune. He was not wearing a helmet. It was not known if alcohol or drugs were factors, the newspaper reported.
His death was the first known fatality in San Diego involving a scooter, police in that city said. Earlier this month, the city of Atlanta asked local hospitals to start tracking the number of scooter-related injuries and voluntarily report back to city officials.
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While no data currently exists for Atlanta, Grady Memorial Hospital, the largest hospital in Georgia, estimated it receives between 80 and 100 scooter-related injuries per month, ranging from serious head injuries to broken limbs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
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Conti’s brother took to Facebook to warn others of the dangers of electronic scooters, sharing a friend’s message that “these devices can and often do kill people.”
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“These are recreational vehicles; however when someone is going to or from dinner, hotels or shopping centers, they are not usually wearing appropriate recreational gear,” Scott Conti said. “I agree with our friend that people need to be aware of the dangers of this relatively new mode of transportation.”
Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore told The AJC she hopes data from local hospitals will help officials write new safety requirements.
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