Two months after a deadly electric scooter crash claimed the life of 12-year-old Abby Gillon, her family is speaking out for the first time and pushing for a new law they hope will prevent another tragedy.
Abby was riding an electric scooter with a friend in Aston, Delaware County, on June 14 when the girls fell and were hit by a car. Abby died from her injuries. Her friend survived.
“It’s one of the worst phone calls a parent can get,” Abby’s mother, Lori Kralle, said during an exclusive interview with CBS News Philadelphia.
Kralle remembers desperately trying to get answers after a nurse called from the emergency room.
“I just kept asking, ‘Is she alert? Is she responsive?’ And they wouldn’t give me an answer,” Kralle said.
Abby was an honor student at Ridley Middle School who loved swimming, cheerleading, and making people smile.
“She was my best friend, my only daughter, my only child,” Kralle said. “We feel broken.”
Her tragic death sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community, but now, her family is channeling their grief into action.
The Kralles are working with State Sen. Tim Kearney to introduce Abby’s Law, a proposed bill that aims to improve safety for young electric scooter riders across Pennsylvania.
If passed, the law would cap e-scooter speeds at 20 miles per hour, ban riders under 16, and require helmets for 16-and 17-year-olds.
Abby’s uncle, Ron Kralle, created a Facebook page to raise awareness and gather support for the legislation.
“There are people that argue, ‘You can’t take my rights away,'” Ron Kralle said. “Every other day, you hear another scooter incident, scooter incident.”
Just this week, two 14-year-olds were seriously injured while riding a scooter in nearby Springfield.
Electric scooters continue to grow in popularity, but the Kralle family believes current laws haven’t kept up.
Lori Kralle said she’s determined to honor her daughter’s memory and protect other children from similar fates.
“I don’t want another family having to get that phone call or having to bury their child,” Lori Kralle said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
Abby’s Law is expected to be formally introduced in Harrisburg next month. The Kralle family said they’re committed to seeing it through every step of the way.
“Electrified scooters are a relatively new thing,” Kearney said. “They’re not actually covered in the motor vehicle code at all. So what that means is that they’re not legal to drive on the streets. The only thing they say in the motor vehicle code is that you can only operate them on private property, which is kind of crazy, because you know that’s not happening.”
