Jacob's Journey: A mother's love, loss and fight for change after 14-year-old son dies after e-scooter collision in Wythenshawe

On Wednesday 19 March 2025, she received a call from her partner to say that her son – 14-year-old Jacob Calland – had been involved in a road traffic collision on Southmoor Road. No more information was available to her at that point, just that he had been knocked down and to get to the scene as soon as possible.

"It was breathtaking. It's the only word I can use. It was breathtaking,” said Carly, who recalls the moment she saw the scene on Southmoor Road.

"When I got there, the police officer took me over to where Jacob was. He was already in the back of the air ambulance by this point, and they were about to blue light him to Manchester Children's Hospital.

"They didn't tell me anything. They just basically said he'd been knocked over and that he was riding on the back of an e-scooter, and that's as much information as I got at that point."

Jacob and Carly Calland

After following the ambulance to the hospital, Carly was met by one of our Senior Investigating Officers who explained what had happened in detail and that he had been taken for some scans.

From there, Jacob was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where healthcare professionals continued to work on him and the family could spend time with him during his recovery.

During his stay in ICU, Carly decided she wanted to send text messages to Jacob's phone, detailing what had been going on with him while he lay in hospital, in the hope that when he had recovered, he could read them and see what he had been through.

"The reason behind me taking the photos and sending those text messages is because I used to text Jacob daily,” said Carly.

"I needed to do it for me because we were on a journey, and I forget quite a lot. I didn't know what was going to happen to Jacob, so I was documenting it with the hope of sitting down together and explaining what we had gone through and how much of an impact his split-second decision to get on the back of that e-scooter, had on me and the rest of his family.

"I wanted him to see what his actions had done to people because everyone has consequences for their actions. Jacob was one of those children that just go, 'oh, well, whatever, she's lying, or she's exaggerating like she usually does'.

"So, I thought, if I give it to him in real time and when he looks back and picks that phone up and reads the messages, he's going to see it and never put himself in that situation again."

Jacob in the Intensive Care Unit

Eight days after the collision, Jacob sadly lost his life.

Despite going through this unimaginable pain, Carly decided to turn her grief into strength, launching a campaign to raise awareness through Jacob's Journey and about how regulations need to change around the use of e-scooters.

She said: "When I started up with Jacob's Journey, I knew it was going to make an impact. The impact it's made has blown me away, honestly.

"Doing this just gave me more willpower that I needed to know that I was doing something right. I am hoping to try to save other people; I'm trying to save other children from making the same split-second decision Jacob did.

"A lot of people ask me why now - why not wait? When is the right time? - I don't want to sit and do this in three or four years' time when this rawness is not here.

"My message to everybody out there is just think. Think before you do something — in everyday life, everything can be dangerous. So, if you're going to do something and get on something that is illegal, think about that before you do it. Because Jacob didn't do that. He jumped on that e-scooter and he's no longer here. I think that's my biggest message— just think, is it worth it?"

More information around Jacob’s Journey can be found here: Jacob's Journey - Life over Death

Jacob's and Carly's final goodbye

Investigating Officer across this case, Detective Constable Steve Pennington from our Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “This is a tragic incident that could have been avoidable for so many reasons, but Jacob and his friend had no protective equipment on which ultimately cost Jacob his life.

“We do a lot of work around this subject; we speak to loads of people to explain the rules around e-scooters and the dangers they can pose to pedestrians and other road users. Riders could face a fine, penalty points on their licence or even disqualification from driving, as well as having their e-scooters seized and destroyed.

“When a young person dies in these circumstances, it leaves parents, siblings, friends, and entire communities grieving an unimaginable loss.

“Families are left to cope with unimaginable grief, however, in the face of devastating grief, for Jacob's mother, Carly, she has used that as her strength transforming her pain into a powerful campaign to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy.

“She has created an emotional short film documenting the eight days from Jacob's accident to his sad death. Her courage in sharing such personal pain demonstrates how a mother's love can transcend grief to potentially save other young lives through increased awareness of e-scooter dangers."