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Teenager injured in scrambler crash "making good progress"

A teenager is "making good progress" after being seriously injured in a scrambler bike accident on the Glen Road in west Belfast  Picture by Matt Bohill
A teenager is "making good progress" after being seriously injured in a scrambler bike accident on the Glen Road in west Belfast Picture by Matt Bohill

A TEENAGER is out of intensive care and "making good progress" after being injured in a collision involving two scrambler bikes in west Belfast.

The 15-year-old was taken to hospital following the crash, which happened on the Glen Road at around 5.40pm on Sunday.

His condition has improved since initially being admitted to the intensive care unit in the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The South-Eastern Health Trust confirmed yesterday that the teenager had been moved to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, where he is "stable and making good progress."

A 16-year-old boy remains on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, driving without insurance and without a licence.

A PSNI guidance leaflet states that anyone wishing to drive a scrambler must have a valid licence and be at least 16 years of age.

According to legislation scramblers must also be used "on private property where you have permission to ride" and not on a public road.

Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact them on the non-emergency number 101.

Scramblers have become a regular feature – with sometimes tragic consequences – of life across Belfast in recent years.

In 2011 Daniel Mooney, a 12-year-old from north Belfast, was killed when he fell off the back of a scrambler.

Andrew Morrow was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to causing the death of Daniel, his passenger, by dangerous driving, while Dean McComb, who was in charge of another scrambler, received a suspended jail term.

Comedian Jake O'Kane called on Belfast City Council to intervene when he described how a friend had "almost been run over" on the Cavehill Road in 2013 by a group using scrambler bikes.