An Auckland man’s mouth was “shattered into dust” in an e-scooter crash, but he says he could have died if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.<\/p>\n
By Melanie Earley of RNZ<\/a> <\/p>\n Scott Kendall got in touch with RNZ to share his story after reading about a West Coast mum who wants helmets for e-scooters to be mandatory. The woman’s 15-year-old son spent more than a week in hospital<\/a> with a fractured pelvis, internal bleeding and memory loss after a crash.<\/p>\n Kendall had an accident on his e-scooter in 2024, while wearing a helmet, which resulted in extensive facial injuries, five broken ribs, a broken elbow and major lacerations to both hands “down to the tendons”.<\/p>\n He had six metal plates inside his jaw, prosthetic teeth, nerve damage and almost a complete loss of smell – he also had a bone graft to reconstruct his palate (the roof of his mouth).<\/p>\n Prior to the accident, Kendall said he had three e-scooters which he’d purchased after a friend got one. He thought it seemed like an easy way of getting around Greenlane, where he lived.<\/p>\n “The day of the accident, I was going to a dentist appointment – ironically. I have no recollection of the actual accident, only what a plumber who saw it happen told me.”<\/p>\n