A coroner’s inquiry into the fatal scooter accident of Toben John Hunt has highlighted significant gaps in evidence due to the handling of the vehicle involved by the scooter operator Lime. Hunt, 23, died after falling from a Lime scooter on Westhaven Drive in Auckland on September 20, 2019.

Coroner Alexander Ho released his findings nearly seven years after the incident, noting that Hunt suffered fatal head injuries after apparently losing control of the scooter. A witness driving behind Hunt reported that the rider looked over his right shoulder just prior to the crash, at which point the scooter’s rear wheel lifted quickly, causing Hunt to be thrown over the handlebars and perform a “complete 180-degree turn in the air” before hitting the ground. Hunt was not wearing a helmet and had a blood alcohol level nearly four times over the legal driving limit at the time of the crash.

Although alcohol was considered a possible contributing factor, the coroner emphasized that this did not imply Hunt was primarily responsible for his death or that he had ridden unsafely. The scooter model involved, a Lime Gen 2.5, had been serviced six days earlier and is no longer in operation.

Following the accident, Lime remotely disabled the scooter and sent a representative to inspect it at the scene about three hours after the crash. The company then transported the scooter to its warehouse for a detailed examination, which included disassembling the vehicle and conducting telemetry and electrical tests. Lime found no significant damage to key components such as the brakes, headlight, throttle, or motor wiring. It also enlisted a U.S.-based engineering firm to analyze telemetry data, which found no evidence of unexpected braking or mechanical failure prior to the accident.

However, Auckland Council’s appointed engineering firm, Eliga, was unable to conduct a full review due to incomplete access to the scooter’s electronic data and limitations in the format provided. Coroner Ho issued a statutory notice requiring Lime to supply additional information to facilitate a more comprehensive report.

Police investigators only examined the scooter three months later, after Lime had already disassembled and reassembled it. During this inspection, some minor defects were noted, including the absence of a stop mechanism to prevent oversteering. The coroner stated the removal and disassembly of the scooter before police inspection resulted in critical “gaps in evidence.” He observed that ideally, scooters involved in serious crashes should remain at the scene to allow for proper independent investigation, including examination of firmware and electronic hardware.

Hunt’s family urged the inquiry to recommend that future scooters involved in fatal incidents be preserved intact and made available to law enforcement before any internal inspection or dismantling. While Coroner Ho acknowledged the importance of this issue, he said he lacked the legislative authority to enforce such recommendations and referred the matter to Auckland Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency for further consideration.

Lime expressed its cooperation with the investigation and acceptance of the coroner’s findings in a statement, extending condolences to Hunt’s family and supporting the referral of scooter preservation protocols to relevant agencies.

According to the coroner, the most reliable account of the accident remains that of the witness driver, who concluded Hunt likely lost control after turning the handlebars too sharply.