Nearly £11,000 has been raised to keep Anthony Mumford's shoe repair shop going.
A man has died a week after suffering serious injuries from crashing an e-scooter in London.
Anthony Mumford, a cobbler in Twickenham, spent the last week in a coma after coming off the electric scooter while riding it on a road near the town centre.
Initial reports suggested the 53-year-old may have crashed with a car, but police said no other vehicles were thought to have been involved.
He had run Toe Knees, a shoe repair shop, in Church Street for the past 15 years and was a well-known figure in the community.
His partner Cheryl said today: ‘Tony has received the most amazing care over the last five days and we were always encouraged that there was hope of him recovering, even though he has suffered too many injuries to list, with sadly his biggest injury being on his brain.
‘It was not possible for them to stop the swelling and believe me, they tried everything.
‘Sedation was stopped on Tuesday and myself, Tony’s daughters, and my sons were asked to go and say our last goodbyes.
‘Please pass on our gratitude for the overwhelming kind words of support from everyone in the community. The words have kept me going in the darkest of hours.’
Since his fall last Thursday, nearly £11,000 has been raised online to keep his shop going.
His friend Shona Lyons, who launched the fundraiser, said Tony was known for his ‘big heart and kindness’.
‘He is a big part of our community, often charging next to nothing if he thinks he can help someone less fortunate and always ingenious with his craft work in finding creative solutions to difficult problems,’ she said.
‘Everyone knows him, most have been helped by him in some way and we all love him.’
Eyewitness Ibrahim Bozkurt, 43, told the Evening Standard Tony was involved in a collision with a car.
He said: ‘I was serving a customer who told me a man had been hit by a car and I went out straight away.’
‘He was lying on the floor in shock, shaking, with his head covered in blood.
‘Electric scooters are so dangerous. I don’t know how but there was zero damage to the car.’
But this account was contradicted by the Metropolitan Police, who launched a new appeal for witnesses this afternoon.
Officers were called at 7.10pm on Thursday, July 15 to Heath Road in Twickenham.
Tony’s next of kin are being supported by specially trained officers, police said. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course.
‘Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing,’ a spokesperson added. ‘No other vehicles are thought to have been involved in the incident.’
A ‘wonderful’ teenager killed in a hit-and-run while on an e-scooter in Bromley has also been pictured for the first time.
MORE : E-scooter trial launches in London but faces early roadblock
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