An Auckland man's mouth was "shattered into dust" in an e-scooter crash, but he says he could have died if he hadn't been wearing a helmet.
By Melanie Earley of RNZ
Scott Kendall got in touch with RNZ to share his story after reading about a West Coast mum who wants helmets for e-scooters to be mandatory. The woman's 15-year-old son spent more than a week in hospital with a fractured pelvis, internal bleeding and memory loss after a crash.
Kendall had an accident on his e-scooter in 2024, while wearing a helmet, which resulted in extensive facial injuries, five broken ribs, a broken elbow and major lacerations to both hands "down to the tendons".
He had six metal plates inside his jaw, prosthetic teeth, nerve damage and almost a complete loss of smell - he also had a bone graft to reconstruct his palate (the roof of his mouth).
Prior to the accident, Kendall said he had three e-scooters which he'd purchased after a friend got one. He thought it seemed like an easy way of getting around Greenlane, where he lived.
"The day of the accident, I was going to a dentist appointment - ironically. I have no recollection of the actual accident, only what a plumber who saw it happen told me."
Kendall said that while he was wearing a helmet, which protected him from a brain injury, it did not have a chin strap, so his jaw took the full brunt of the fall.
"The front just stopped moving... I smashed into the ground head-first."
Kendall spent time in both Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals, for a week each, and in the two years since had undergone more surgeries on his face and jaw than he could count.
"I lost my sense of smell pretty much entirely. I have scarring inside my mouth where plates were installed... lots of scarring around my eyes...
"The top palate of my mouth, the whole palate, was shattered into dust, so my top teeth were all completely broken out of my mouth, and they had to rebuild the roof of it."
He said it was still hard at times to speak clearly, eat and even swallow.
Kendall said if he was wearing a full-face helmet, his jaw wouldn't have been so damaged.
But also the first surgeon he saw at Auckland Hospital told him if he hadn't been wearing a helmet at all, he would likely have a severe brain injury or even be dead.
"It makes me really scared looking at parents picking up children on scooters.
"I often see a very small child standing in front of a dad going at speed, grinning, having a jolly time, but the tragedy that would befall that child if even the slightest thing went wrong... that would end in death or extremely serious brain injury... It's just terrifying."
After the accident, Kendall said he called a friend and asked him to get rid of the e-scooters. He hadn't been on one since.
Kendall said something needed to be done to make people more aware of the risks.
"Urgent regulatory intervention is needed, with required safety messaging being provided by retailers and laws requiring full-face helmets that cover the chin."
His message to other riders was simple: "Stay safe - wear a full-face helmet, gloves and ideally long pants as well."
ACC figures released earlier this year showed claims for e-scooter injuries were on the rise, with children and young people among the most affected.
ACC paid out almost $16 million for scooter-related injuries in 2025, up about 10% on the year prior. Just over $1.2 million had been paid out in January 2026.
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