Marple Township begins enforcing e-scooter ban

MARPLE TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- A Marple Township family is speaking out about e-scooter safety after their teenage son suffered a traumatic brain injury in a crash last summer.

Michael McCullough, now 15, was riding his family's e-scooter on Sproul Road on July 26, 2024, when he was hit by a car. He was not wearing a helmet at the time.

"He spent every day riding his scooter that summer, where we finally let him have some freedoms," said his mother, Dana McCullough. "I was naive to all of this. Naive that my kid could not be coming home one day."

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Since the accident, Michael has had to relearn how to move, talk, and walk. His recovery continues more than a year later.

His case is one of several serious e-scooter incidents in Delaware County in recent years. In June 2025, 12-year-old Abby Gillon died from injuries sustained in a scooter crash in Aston.

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The rise in accidents has prompted calls for regulation from the Pennsylvania legislature. In the meantime, Marple Township is enforcing existing restrictions more aggressively.

"Just to let people know, e-scooters cannot be legally operated on the streets or sidewalks in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Period," said Marple Township Police Chief Brandon Graeff.

E-scooters are not recognized under Pennsylvania's vehicle code, which township officials interpret as making them illegal to operate in public spaces. Police say they will stop riders, especially minors, and contact their parents.

"We are going to stop them, and we're going to inconvenience the parents, notify the parents, let them know, 'Hey, we are with your child here, come get him or her,'" Graeff said.

The McCullough family supports the crackdown and hopes it will prevent other families from experiencing similar trauma.

"I don't want another family to have to go through what we lived," Dana McCullough said.

Marple Township is working to formalize its stance with a local ordinance. That process is set to begin at a township meeting on Thursday night.