Chicago man billed thousands for ambulance after he says e-bike hit him on sidewalk

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A South Side man was billed thousands of dollars for an ambulance, and he's blaming Chicago police for the cost.

David Walls of East Chatham said he was hit by an electric bike in the 8200-block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, as he was getting out of his car recently.

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Walls said now he can't find the young woman who hit him. He says that's because Chicago police let her go and didn't issue a citation.

Now, he's stuck with a $3,000 ambulance bill.

Just days after a September I-Team investigation about e-bikes and e-scooters illegally riding on sidewalks, narrowly missing pedestrians, Walls reached out about his experience.

"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. "Broke the bone right here."

Walls suffered a serious leg injury and is using a walker.

Police showed up to the scene, and a report was filed.

CPD told the I-Team that no one was cited or arrested.

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

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, which includes a wide, busy street.

Now, weeks later, Walls faces a new problem.

"Yes, and I can't pay this. I'm on a fixed income. This is ridiculous," Walls said.

Walls has been slapped with a bill for almost $3,000 from the city of Chicago for ambulance emergency medical services.

"Feel like I've been begging, been taken advantage of. I've been hit, now, been charged the bill for something that wasn't even my fault," Walls said.

His insurance is covering his other medical bills but not the ambulance. He says because police let the woman go, he has no contact information and no way to ask her, or her insurance, to pay.

"Because she was in around wrong. It's just like if it was a car. They would have cited someone that was driving. The car is about the same amount of speed," Walls said.

Walls has retained a lawyer to help him find the alleged suspect.

CPD said "no comment" in regards to the ambulance bill issue.

The Department of Finance, who bills for the ambulance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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.