18-year-old hospitalized after LimeBike crash, possibly due to brakes being cut

SEATTLE -- Police are investigating after an 18-year-old riding a bike-share was hospitalized when he crashed the bike, possibly because the brakes were purposefully cut.

The 18-year-old crashed just after midnight Tuesday near the intersection of 33rd Street and Fuhrman Avenue East in Seattle, Seattle Fire Department officials said. He was transported to the University of Washington Medical Center in stable condition.

Seattle police were called to the scene because of an "issue with the brakes" on the victim's LimeBike rideshare, Seattle Police detective Patrick Michaud said. Detectives are trying to determine if the brakes were intentionally cut.

In August, police reported a man was sabotaging bike-shares like LimeBike by slashing the brakes. They said he'd been spotted for at least a couple of months. The warning followed a similar release in March.

Police released surveillance video of the suspect.



Michaud could not confirm if the same suspect had been spotted lately. He said it was unknown if the number of bike-shares being sabotaged had increased recently, in part because LimeBike doesn't always report vandalized bikes to police.

Police say if you spot anyone tampering with bike-share brakes, call 911.