May 23, 2019

Nashville, Tennessee

Since e-scooters arrived in Nashville they have brought injury, suffering and, most recently, death and unimaginable sorrow to the family of Brady Gaulke. The devastation started slowly, with most Nashvillians merely annoyed at how they littered the sidewalks. Then people started getting hurt. By February 2019, Vanderbilt had treated over 250 people who had been injured while riding e-scooters. Finally, inevitably, on May 19, 2019 someone was killed. That was Brady Gaulke. Heidi and Brian’s son. Dakota’s brother.

He was killed because e-scooters are inherently unsafe in urban environments like Nashville, on streets filled with fast moving vehicles. Like the Corvair from another era, e-scooters are unsafe at any speed, and we are calling on Mayor David Briley and the Metro Council to ban them from the streets immediately. We are calling for a ban so Brady is the last victim of an epidemic that the e-scooter companies and local government both refuse to acknowledge.

We have read the same articles that you have, which say Brady made an improper turn. We have read that the driver of the vehicle involved in the collision bears no fault for his death. Consequently, we understand how tempting it is to blame Brady for what happened. Our purpose in releasing this statement is not to argue, it is to ask for your help.

We need your help in preventing one more injury, one more death, regardless of fault. Please help us by signing the petition in support of the ban on e-scooters in Nashville.

We saw how you rallied to save the cherry trees that were threatened by the NFL draft. We are asking you to rally again, this time against a much graver threat: the use of inherently unsafe e-scooters in Nashville, Tennessee.

As we work through Brady’s passing, we take comfort in the stories about him from the people whose the lives he touched, and in the final act of kindness he showed before he left this world: Brady was an organ donor. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this time. 

Please direct any inquiries to our attorney, Sean J. Martin. 

Thank you.

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RELATED LINKS:

May 14, 2018 – Two women on e-scooters were hit by a car one year before Brady’s accident.          https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/05/14/women-electric-scooters-injured-downtown-nashville-hit-and-run-crash/606639002/

September 7, 2018 – Police Statement “...even when officers see violations, "enforcement's going to be really tricky," particularly during busy special events.”                        https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/09/07/scooter-electric-bird-lime-problem-nashville-police/1224480002/

September 11, 2018 – Celebrity Injured on scooter; no one is immune to this.  https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2018/09/11/shawn-mendes-falls-off-scooter-nashville/1273951002/

December 3, 2018 – Video of Accident; the third account of an e-scooter rider being struck by a vehicle five months before Brady. https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/12/03/nashville-bird-scooter-rider-struck-vehicle-downtown/2190967002/

December 6, 2018 – The Vanderbilt Medical Center Trauma ICU Director has expressed concern with trauma; specifically, head injuries, as a result of scooters.  https://www.nashvillepublicradio.org/post/scooter-accidents-have-nashvilles-trauma-center-fretting-about-head-injuries#stream/0

May 20, 2019 – Nashville Fire Department Reports 74 scooter-related injuries in 4 months.                                                          https://www.wsmv.com/news/nashville-fire-reports-scooter-related-injuries-in-months/article_a487ddb2-7b2d-11e9-adf4-f3ec218a92ca.html

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POINTS OF CONTACT:

Mayor David Briley                                                                                       

• Email: mayor@nashville.gov
• Phone: (615) 862-6000

Metropolitan Council Members:

• Collective Email: councilmembers@nashville.gov 
• Phone: (615) 862-6780

Individually:

• jim.shulman@nashville.gov
• cooperatlarge@nashville.gov
• erica.gilmore@nashville.gov
• bob.mendes@nashville.gov
• sharon.hurt@nashville.gov
• Jonathan.Hall@nashville.gov
• decosta.hastings@nashville.gov
• brenda.haywood@nashville.gov
• robert.swope@nashville.gov
• scott.davis@nashville.gov
• brett.withers@nashville.gov
• anthony.davis@nashville.gov
• nancy.vanreece@nashville.gov
• bill.pridemore@nashville.gov
• doug.pardue@nashville.gov
• Larry.Hagar@nashville.gov
• steve.glover@nashville.gov
• holly.huezo@nashville.gov
• kevin.rhoten@nashville.gov
• jeff.syracuse@nashville.gov
• mike.freeman@nashville.gov
• colby.sledge@nashville.gov
• burkley.allen@nashville.gov
• freddie.oconnell@nashville.gov
• marycarolyn.roberts@nashville.gov
• ed.kindall@nashville.gov
• sheri.weiner@nashville.gov
• mina.johnson@nashville.gov
• kathleen.murphy@nashville.gov
• russ.pulley@nashville.gov
• jeremy.elrod@nashville.gov
• davette.blalock@nashville.gov
• tanaka.vercher@nashville.gov
• Delishia.Porterfield@nashville.gov
• jason.potts@nashville.gov
• fabian.bedne@nashville.gov
• jacobia.dowell@nashville.gov
• Antoinette.Lee@nashville.gov
• angie.henderson@nashville.gov
• dave.rosenberg@nashville.gov

E-Scooter Companies:

• city@bird.co
• legal@li.me
• legal@limebike.com
• support@jump.com
• support@ridegotcha.com