Bird scooter smashes BMW on Mission Blvd.

On June 15, Seda Onek spoke to the Bird company in Santa Monica in hopes to square up on more than $1600 worth of damage done to her 2013 BMW 328i on Memorial Day weekend.

“They’re giving us the run-around,” Onek said. “I have informed Bird that I would be pursuing legal action if we can’t resolve this issue in the next few weeks.”

On May 26 at around 2 p.m., Onek, a Pacific Beach resident, heard someone crash into her black BMW from inside her Mission Boulevard apartment.

“He (the Bird rider) was on the ground,” she said, “and by the time I got my shoes on and began to go downstairs, he was getting up from the ground where his Bird scooter was and he began to walk away.”

Onek then yelled as he ran northbound past Law Street.

“So I began recording him on my phone,” she said. “He’s the one in the gray shirt on the right and the other guy also on a motorized scooter, that’s his friend.”

She took photos of the crash scene, which shows her passenger side mirror broken off. “I realized there were dents and scratches on my front passenger side quarter panel.”

Onek posted a photo of the rider fleeing the scene on her social media.

“Oops, he’s going to feel that tomorrow,” responded one neighbor. Another said “The scooter will have his info and probably have liability insurance.”

On the Bird website, it says, "Rider agrees that he/she is responsible and liable for any misuse, consequences, claims, demands, causes of action, losses, liabilities, damages, injuries, costs and expenses, penalties, attorney’s fees, judgments, suits or disbursements of any kind or nature whatsoever related to a stolen or lost Vehicle.”

“The police officer said that most likely my insurance would chase this,” Onek said.

On that same weekend, in Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, $200-$300 citations were given out by the SDPD to Bird riders for not wearing helmets. On the boardwalk, which is a block west from the crash scene, a couple of riders were allegedly arrested for “scooting under the influence.”

“I had to pay to have [the BMW] fixed so that I could drive to and from work,” Onek said, “the estimate is $1672.29 and I paid for the $286.82 rental car out of pocket."