LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Doctors at Sunrise Trauma Center reported a sharp increase in e-bike and e-scooter injuries in early 2026, with many cases involving traumatic brain injuries and riders who were not wearing helmets.
In just the first two and a half months of the year, the hospital has treated 140 patients, more than half of the 254 cases seen in all of 2025. Many of those injured are teenagers and young adults.
For Carlos Velazquez, those numbers are more than statistics.
“I’m very thankful for God to keeping me on this earth,” Carlos said.
Nearly a year ago, Carlos was riding an e-scooter with his older brother when a driver, identified as Same Girma, ran a red light and crashed into them. Girma pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter in a courtroom last month. The plea acknowledges that prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a conviction but does not constitute an admission of guilt.
Carlos, who was age 14 at the time, survived the crash, but his 22-year-old brother, Christopher Soto, did not.
“Even after almost a year now, it’s so hard for me to do a lot of things,” Carlos said. “Walking up the stairs really hurts my legs.”
Carlos spent weeks in the hospital recovering from multiple injuries, including head trauma that permanently damaged his vision.
“I can see out of my left eye,” he said. “I just can’t see out of my right.”
His mother, Cat Velazquez, remembers the uncertainty of those first days.
“We didn’t know if he was going to make it,” she said. “I don’t want any other parent to have to go through this never-ending nightmare.”
Carlos admitted he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
“If he was wearing his helmet that day, he possibly would not have lost his vision,” his mother said, pointing to damage to his optic nerve.
Doctors said stories like Carlos’s are becoming increasingly common, and that helmets can make a critical difference in reducing the severity of injuries.
“We still don’t see a whole lot of improvement as far as helmet use, and then we’re seeing your biggest mortality as far as you know how it ends up with people having severe injuries in the head,” John Pope, Vice President of Trauma Services at Sunrise Trauma Center, said. “There’s plenty of other injuries that happen, but the thing is that’s the one that’s either going to severely change your life or end it.”
Still, many riders choose not to wear them. Sunrise Trauma reported that 30 percent of injuries are in children under the age of 18, with documented helmet use in only 21 percent of the patients treated.
“I wasn’t really thinking about wearing a helmet, but I should have,” Carlos said.
Even helmets, his family notes, are not a guarantee. His older brother was wearing one when he was killed, a reminder of how vulnerable riders are when sharing the road with cars.
“Pedestrian versus a car, it’s not good odds,” Cat said.
Carlos said the crash changed how he protects himself with gear, but not his passion. He now rides an e-motorcycle.
“After what happened to me, it makes you super more cautious,” Carlos said.
His mother is now urging families to focus on what they can control, protection.
“Buy helmets,” she said. “You’re not going to be able to stop your kids from being kids. So protect them.”
For Carlos, the lesson is permanent, a daily reminder carried in both grief and survival.
“I regret not putting it on that day,” he said. “It wouldn’t have saved my brother, but it would have saved my eye.”
As doctors warn of a growing trend in brain injuries tied to e-rides, families like the Velazquez’s hope their story pushes others to make a different choice. She is also encouraging the development of a specific area in the valley for e-riders to go.
“I wish they could build a park specifically for these toys,” she said. “You know, the kids just want to have fun. Las Vegas streets are, are not, not where you can drive these things.”
Cat is also pushing for stricter laws. Under current Nevada law, the driver who hit Soto could only be charged with a misdemeanor for vehicular manslaughter. Cat said that it is insufficient.
