Chicago man says e-bike rider crashed into him on sidewalk, breaking his leg: 'very painful'

Friday, September 26, 2025
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Electric scooters and bikes on sidewalks can put pedestrians at risk.

One local man said he was injured by an e-bike.



David Walls of East Chatham said he is in excruciating pain and using a walker after the crash.

"Very, very painful, painful, I have to live with this for five weeks," Walls said. "Broke the bone right here."



Walls was shocked when he says an electric bike rider slammed into him. It happened as he was getting out of his car.

"As soon as I put my foot on the ground, a young lady came by with an electric bike, hit me and knocked me to the ground," Walls said.

The police report says the e-bike rider was on the sidewalk. Laws say e-bikes and e-scooters are supposed to be in designated bike lanes or on the street.

There do not appear to be any marked bike lanes in that area.

The crash happened in the 8200-block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, along a wide, busy street.



Walls says that the e-bike came out of nowhere, and hit him like a ton of bricks.

He says it could have been worse because it happened near a day care, and a child could have been hurt.

"If I'm 6 (feet) 6 (inches tall), 158 pounds and they did this to me, and there is a daycare next-door, what if this happened to a child who was 30-40 pounds?" Walls said.

The Chicago Department of Transportation says it requires shared e-scooter and e-bike companies to educate users and issue warnings and bans when riders keep breaking the rules. But for privately owned scooters and e-bikes, enforcement falls solely on police. Chicago police say they do enforce transportation laws, with pedestrian safety as their top priority.

Walls says police only issued a warning to the person who hit him. So, he has no contact with her, and now he's stuck with the medical bills.



Chicago police said no one was cited or arrested.

ABC7 Chicago blurred the rider's face in a photo Walls took because she was not charged.

While the I-Team was on the scene where Walls was hit, there were several other scooters speeding down the sidewalk.

"Get off the sidewalks; they are not made for sidewalks. The sidewalks are made for pedestrians. You're going to hurt somebody bad. Yes, look at the outcome. Look," Wall said.
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