The heartbroken wife-to-be of an e-scooter rider killed in a fatal crash has remembered her fiancée as a ‘woman of many talents’ and said she is ‘lost’ without her.
Jessie Van Der Draay, 32, was riding the electric scooter in Lithgow, west of the NSW Blue Mountains, when she was hit by an Isuzu ute on Friday evening.
NSW Police said the 44-year-old driver of the Isuzu was travelling east on the Great Western Highway when he struck Ms Van Der Draay at the Lee Street junction.
A bystander rushed to her aid and performed CPR before paramedics arrived but they were unable to save Ms Van Der Draay and she died at the scene.
A year to the day earlier, her fiancée Kayla Bunting had spoke lovingly of Ms Van Der Draay in a Facebook post on February 28, 2024.
‘You’re my Lover, my Fiancée, my Best Friend, my Soul Mate and my Partner in Crime,’ she posted.
‘I couldn’t ask for anyone else to spend the rest of my life with.’
Now devastated Ms Bunting has revealed her grief in a harrowing post on social media, posting on Facebook: ‘F***, I’m lost. Absolutely nothing without you.’
She has now launched a GoFundMe appeal to help with the unexpected funeral costs and revealed how Ms Van Der Draay shared the parenting of Ms Bunting’s two children.
‘Jessie was and is loved and respected by many people,’ Ms Bunting wrote on the fundraiser page.
‘She was not only a sister and a close mate but took on the big [role] of being a step mum to two girls.’
Ms Van Der Draay was described as a generous and handy homemaker.
‘No matter what she always was there to help anyone who asked, she was always doing something around the house (or multiple things at once),’ she added.
‘There was rarely a time you’d see Jessie without tools in her hands or building something new that she’s thought of.
‘She was a woman of many talents.’
The Isuzu driver was taken to Lithgow Hospital for mandatory testing following the collision.
NSW Police said inquiries were still continuing into the circumstances leading up to the death.
‘We are awaiting the result of blood tests as well as reviewing statements from witnesses, and prepping a report for the information of the Coroner,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail .
‘We are still keen to hear from anyone with information, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.’
Ms Van Der Draay’s tragic death is the latest in a series of recent e-scooter and e-bike fatalities across the country.
Last month, father-to-be Stuart Jackson succumbed to head injuries after crashing his e-scooter in Highland Park on the Gold Coast.
Queensland emergency departments recorded 1,273 e-scooter injuries in 2023.
The research, compiled by Jamieson Trauma Institute, found hospitalisations arising from e-scooter incidents had doubled across the state in the two years leading.
Figures are believed to be even higher than reported due to differences in hospital reporting processes.
Queensland University of Technology Professor Narelle Haworth said private and public (or shared) e-scooters pose their own different risks.
‘The safety issues for private and shared e-scooters differ,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘For private e-scooters, speeding on e-scooters that have been bought online or have been modified to travel faster is a big issue.
‘But private riders generally wear helmets and cover most of their skin.’
Public scooters, while not modified for higher speeds, tend to attract less experienced riders.
‘For shared e-scooters, inexperience and non-wearing of helmets seem to be the biggest issue,’ Professor Haworth said.
The global e-scooter market was valued at more than $49billion AUD in 2023 and is understood to be growing at ten per cent year-on-year.
While cities across the world, including Paris, Madrid and Rome, have imposed heavy restrictions and bans on public e-scooters, they remain a favoured mode of transport across .
A City of Melbourne trial ended in an all-out ban last August after Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece declared the public scooters posed an ‘unacceptable public safety risk’ to pedestrians.
Private e-scooters are still legal in the municipality, but the future of public e-scooters remains in doubt.
‘Ending the e-scooter trial was the right thing for the City of Melbourne,’ Mr Reece told Daily Mail .
‘Too many people were getting injured – so we acted to prioritise people’s safety.
‘Riders were doing the wrong thing and e-scooters littered across footpaths were creating a safety hazard.’
Professor Haworth also said the design of e-scooters puts riders at higher risk of severe injury.
‘Firstly, they have small wheels and their design leads to the tendency for the rider to be catapulted over the handlebars, landing on their face or head, if they strike a bump (e.g., tree root) or pothole on the footpath or the road.
‘Secondly, because e-scooters are such a new form of transport, most riders are inexperienced in knowing how to use them and many users are trying them for fun, which is associated with risky behaviours.’
A significant point of departure in approaches to e-scooter regulation across n cities relates to their use on footpaths.
It is illegal to use an e-scooter on a footpath in NSW and Victoria, for example, while doing so under a speed limit is permissible in other states.
Professor Haworth said the disagreements arise from a ‘clash of priorities’.
‘E-scooters ridden on the footpath can pose a danger and can cause fear to pedestrians, particularly those who are elderly or live with disabilities,’ he said.
‘However, the e-scooter riders themselves are less likely to be hit by cars if they ride on the footpath.’
He stressed helmets are vital to minimise fatalities.
‘They do reduce the risk of head and face injuries, but only if worn,’ Professor Haworth said.
‘Helmets left attached to the e-scooter instead of being worn have no protective effect.’