Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken shared dashcam footage Tuesday of a child riding an electric scooter on a Rawlins street and directly into the path of one of his deputies.
The deputy slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing the rider, who fell from the scooter — all in what appears to be half a second.
“Luckily, our deputy was obviously going the speed limit and paying attention,” Bakken told Cowboy State Daily. “Otherwise, it might have had a little different ending.”
Bakken said he shared the video because it captures just how quickly an ordinary drive down a city street can turn into a life-or-death situation when kids on scooters and bicycles are nearby.
The deputy was driving a marked patrol vehicle within Rawlins city limits when the child suddenly crossed into his path.
Bakken said it’s the closest call involving one of his deputies that has come to his attention.
“You see it on a day-to-day basis within city limits,” he said, talking about kids riding electric scooters around town.
This close call was captured because it happened in front of a sheriff's department dashcam. When the same thing happens to an ordinary driver, somebody slams on the brakes, the kid keeps going and everyone heads home, Bakken said.
“Not all of them automatically generate a report, though, so it'd be almost impossible to track how many of these happen,” he said. “And I would imagine there's even more that happen with the motoring public in general that don't file a report.”
Kids And Traffic
What Bakken's dashcam captured isn't an unfamiliar scenario to traffic-safety researchers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes a bicycle “ride-out” crash as one where a child enters a roadway from a driveway, sidewalk or curb and winds up in the path of a passing vehicle.
NHTSA research shows young children don't process traffic situations the same way adults do and can have trouble simultaneously controlling a bicycle while watching and responding to vehicles around them.
NHTSA recommends that riders stop and look left-right-left before entering a roadway. Drivers, meanwhile, should anticipate that cyclists might make unexpected movements and give themselves enough time and space to react.
Speed matters, too.
That's part of why Bakken believes his deputy's speed and attention made the difference.
Crash Numbers
The close calls are difficult to count. The actual crashes aren't.
From 2021 through 2025, Wyoming recorded 286 crashes involving direct contact between a motor vehicle and cyclist.
Six cyclists were killed and 27 suffered serious injuries. Another 173 had minor injuries and 83 had possible injuries.
More than 34% of the cyclists involved were 16 or younger.
Among those young riders, only 28% were reported to be wearing helmets.
The crashes also weren't typically happening on lonely Wyoming highways.
More than 92% occurred in urban areas, and 57.4% involved a cyclist at an intersection.
The most common thing cyclists were doing immediately before being hit was entering or crossing a roadway — not unlike what happened in front of the Carbon County deputy, except this time the driver managed to stop.
Not Just Bicycles
Bicycles aren't the only small vehicles Wyoming drivers are increasingly encountering.
Electric scooters and e-bikes can put riders into traffic at speeds and in places where motorists might not expect them.
Cowboy State Daily reported in July about Cody Campbell, who encountered two electric scooter riders traveling on Wyoming Highway 210 near Curt Gowdy State Park.
Campbell slowed to about 25 mph rather than try to pass as one of the scooter riders swerved in the traffic lane.
The encounter highlighted an oddity in Wyoming law: Electric scooters can legally operate on Wyoming roads, including highways, under circumstances where drivers might not expect to find them.
It also highlights a hole in the numbers.
WYDOT's Highway Safety Data Analysis section collects crash reports submitted by law-enforcement agencies across Wyoming, but the agency's bicycle report doesn't provide a separate statewide count of crashes involving electric scooters.
Cowboy State Daily has asked WYDOT for updated 2026 numbers and clarification about how conventional bicycles, e-bikes and electric scooters are categorized in the state's crash database.
Two Boys Killed
Two boys have been killed in separate bicycle crashes since August.
Earlier this month, 11-year-old Liam Cox was riding his bicycle with his 13-year-old sister along County Road 213 near Burns when a vehicle hit him.
His sister escaped being hit by inches.
“She saw his body fly through the air,” their father, Ryan Cox, previously told Cowboy State Daily.
Liam suffered a traumatic brain injury and was flown to Colorado, where he died three days later.
His father described him as an adventurous, animal-loving kid who collected rocks, climbed trees and loved fishing.
He was, Ryan Cox said, “everybody's friend.”
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office has said impairment wasn't believed to be involved in the crash. Investigators are looking at whether speed played a role.
Two months earlier, an 8-year-old Rawlins boy was killed in a collision involving his bicycle and a pickup at East State Street and Jefferson Avenue.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol reported that the boy was traveling north and might have gone through a stop sign.
Wyoming Taking Notice
The growing presence of e-bikes and electric scooters has also gotten the attention of Wyoming lawmakers.
At an April Casper City Council meeting, a resident raised concerns about electric scooters being ridden on city streets. Council members said Casper Police had already gathered information about scooter issues and that the department and city attorney's office were looking into the subject.
Gillette followed with a City Council presentation in June devoted specifically to current e-bike laws. The city later issued public guidance on e-bikes, scooters and electric dirt bikes, saying use of the vehicles was growing.
Jackson has also invested in e-bike safety measures as officials there contend with increasingly crowded pathways and faster electric bikes.
Rep. Scott Heiner, R-Green River, proposed “E-Bike and Scooter Safety Regulations” as a possible 2026 interim legislative topic.
Heiner wrote that the machines are becoming more popular among riders of all ages while operating with “minimal regulatory oversight.”
“Unsafe behaviors and legal gaps are increasingly evident,” the proposal argues.
Heiner suggested lawmakers examine age and usage restrictions, safety certification or licensing, registration and insurance requirements.
The proposal didn't itself change Wyoming law.
‘Look Both Ways’
For all the questions about crash statistics, electric motors and whether Wyoming's laws need to catch up with the machines people are riding, Bakken has the same old-school advice generations of parents have been giving for decades.
“It’s no different than what our parents told us when we were kids,” he said. “Look both ways when you cross the street. It’s really as simple as that.”
Bakken said drivers have an equally important responsibility, particularly when children could be nearby.
“Make sure that you're driving attentively, keeping your eyes on the road and into the sides of the road,” he said.
That's what his deputy was doing when the child suddenly appeared in front of him, Bakken said.
This time, it was enough.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
