Officers received a report in late September that an electric scooter was lying on the road near the Mudaaugu bus stop on Paldiski Highway, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) said on Saturday.

According to Hisko Vares, head of the investigation unit at Lääne-Harju Police Station, several reports of similar incidents were received over the course of the month. "Police have been informed on 10 occasions that an electric scooter had been left on the road. In one case, a car hit a scooter, but fortunately no one was injured," he said.

The head of the investigation unit said police officers gathered additional information from residents, but the investigation was complicated by the lack of surveillance cameras in the area. There were also no eyewitnesses, as far as police are aware.

"After extensive work, the perpetrators were identified as three young men aged 17, 18 and 24," Vares said.

He stress that deliberately leaving objects on the road is extremely dangerous. "The speed limit on this stretch of road is 70 km/h, and hitting an electric scooter in the dark at that speed could end extremely badly. The young men endangered other people through their actions, and it is only fortunate that no one was injured," Vares said.

The PPA has launched misdemeanor proceedings, during which all the precise circumstances will be established.

Company suspends scooter parking in the area

Hoog Mobility, the company that owns the electric scooters, told ERR it is aware of the incidents, is cooperating with police and has temporarily removed its electric scooters from the area.

"Yes, we are aware of these incidents and take them very seriously. These are not incorrectly parked scooters. The scooters were in a parking area and locked, but someone deliberately carried them from there onto the highway. This is vandalism that endangers the lives and health of drivers. Nothing like this has happened to us before, and the incidents have been confined to one area," said Drevor Rudnevs, Hoog Mobility management board member.

Several of the company's scooters have been damaged as a result of the incidents, but he did not say how extensive the damage was. "Scooters can be repaired or replaced, but a person's health cannot," Rudnevs added.

The board member said police are aware of the incidents and proceedings are ongoing: "As a precautionary measure, we have temporarily removed the parking areas in this region. We are grateful to local residents who have informed us of their observations"

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