ST. GEORGE, Utah — Police say a 9-year-old boy riding an e-scooter died after being hit by a golf cart driven by a 12-year-old in a St. George neighborhood, prompting calls for increased safety measures in the area.
Steven Yu was riding his e-scooter on May 4 when he was struck at the corner of 2780 East and Flycatcher Drive in the Woodland Estates neighborhood. Following the crash, Yu was airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas, where he remained in a coma for five days before passing away.
"When the Yu family moved here a year ago, my son and Steven met and they became best friends. And Stephen had a heart of gold," said Cami King, a friend of the Yu family.
The community has placed ribbons around poles and trees at the intersection where the accident occurred.
King says the corner where the accident happened has ongoing safety issues.
"We've seen cars flying by. I was nearly hit about a week ago," said King.
St. George Police say it's illegal for children under 15 to operate golf carts.
"It's an infraction initially to allow anybody under the age of 15 years old to drive a golf cart. We'll cite the kids. We'll cite the parents for it," said Sgt. Jeremy Needles with the St. George Police Department.
Andy Short, who owns RMT Equipment in St. George, says neighborhood golf carts are selling more than those used on golf courses, creating potential safety concerns.
"The big thing that kids don't know when they're driving these is the laws on the road, you know? When to use turn signals, when not to, when to stop, when to go, where to go. That is a big problem," said Short.
Residents say the intersection where Yu was killed is just blocks from the busy Dinosaur Crossing shopping area and has vehicles speeding through with little signage.
The city has reportedly told residents that additional safety measures can be implemented if it's determined more than 400 cars drive by in an hour. However, King says Yu's family wants immediate action.
"They would want change to be created for this, to keep other children safe. I'd like to see a four-way stop. I'd like to see speed bumps. We need to have something that is slowing this traffic down. This is unacceptable," said King.
"We don't want to see any fatalities associated with this, which is the biggest thing. There's people out there going, 'Oh, just let kids have fun.' When you gotta go tell the parents that their child died, that's tough," said Needles.
