A 26-year-old reporter with CBS has died in a moped accident in New York.
Nina Kapur becomes the first person killed in an accident involving one of the city’s Revel rental scooters since their introduction in 2018.
According to reports, she was not wearing a helmet at the time.
The journalist was riding as a passenger with an as-yet unidentified male driver, also 26.
According to NYPD, the accident occurred when the driver “swerved for an unknown reason”; however reports claim the driver said afterwards he was swerving to avoid a car that had pulled out in front of him.
The driver was also not wearing a helmet, but only suffered minor injuries. Kapur’s relationship to the driver is not yet known.
“We are heartbroken here at CBS2 as a member of our news family has passed away,” her employer said in a statement on Sunday. “Reporter Nina Kapur joined the team in June 2019 and was known for her contagious smile and love for storytelling.”
“She was involved in a moped accident Saturday in the city and died at Bellevue Hospital.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Nina’s family. She will be missed.”
CBS posted a heartbreaking tribute video to the promising young reporter on Tuesday, detailing her disbelief at landing her dream job only in June of last year, to her very first report on ice-cream trucks breaking traffic laws in NY.
Startup Revel Transit rolled out its 10-month pilot in Queens and Brooklyn in July of 2018 with just 68 scooters, before expanding its fleet to over 1,000 vehicles in May 2019; it then deployed its second pilot in Washington DC in August of that year.
Several lawsuits have been taken against the company over crash injuries; however Saturday’s crash is the first fatal one.
“Revel extends deepest sympathies to Nina Kapur’s family and loved ones for their loss,” the company said in a statement.
“We are aware of reports that she passed away after an accident involving a Revel electric moped. We are actively investigating this incident, and we are in contact with the NYPD to aid their investigations in any way we can.”
The mopeds can travel up to 30mph; while free lessons can be taken, none are required. Users only need a valid drivers license — not a specific motorbike one — and the Revel app.
“New York City is not the proper place to be learning for the first time how to ride a scooter,” lawyer Daniel Flanzig — who is representing a number of clients suing the company — told the New York Post in January. “It’s not all that far off from a motorcycle.”
Nina, originally from Pennsylvania, is survived by her mother, father, and older brother.
