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Los Angeles Secures Its First Drunk Scooter-Riding Conviction

Los Angeles Secures Its First Drunk Scooter-Riding Conviction

(Bloomberg) -- The takeover of the streets of Los Angeles by electric scooters reached a new milestone Thursday after a 28-year-old man became the first to be convicted in the city for riding a Bird scooter while drunk.

The man was three times over the legal blood alcohol limit when he knocked over a 64-year-old pedestrian on a sidewalk last month, according to a statement by City Attorney Mike Feuer. The scooter rider didn’t stop and was arrested at a nearby apartment building.

Los Angeles, like many cities, is coping with a surge in scooter riding thanks to the advent of new part-time rental services such Bird and Lime. Some cities have sought to ban them as they work out rules regarding their number and usage.

The rider pleaded no contest to operating a motorized scooter under the influence and to hit-and-run, according to the statement. He was fined $550, given three years probation, and ordered to complete a three-month DUI program and to pay restitution to the victim who suffered a knee abrasion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Christopher Palmeri

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