British Backpacker E-Scooter Crash Perth: The Night That Changed Two Families Forever

A drunk e-scooter ride on a busy Perth footpath, a 51-year-old pedestrian on his way home, and a split-second impact that left one man dead and a British backpacker facing years behind bars. The British backpacker e-scooter crash Perth case has become a flashpoint in Australia’s debate over e-scooter safety and tourist behaviour.

The ordinary night that turned catastrophic

On a cool May evening in 2025, the Murray Street Mall in Perth’s CBD was busy in the way city centres often are: office workers drifting home, couples browsing shopfronts, tourists threading through the crowd with phones held up to the skyline.

Among them was 51-year-old Thanh Phan, a softly spoken husband and father who had made a life in Western Australia. He was walking along the footpath, not far from his workplace, doing something utterly unremarkable and completely safe — until a rented electric scooter came at him from behind.

That scooter was being ridden by 25-year-old British backpacker Alicia Kemp, from Redditch in Worcestershire, who had spent the evening drinking with friends before unlocking one of Perth’s shared e-scooters. According to evidence later outlined in the Western Australia District Court, her blood alcohol reading was about 0.185, more than three times the legal limit of 0.05.

Kemp was not riding alone. A friend had climbed onto the scooter behind her as an illegal passenger, a practice clearly banned under Western Australian e-scooter rules. CCTV footage, cited in court reporting by outlets including ABC News and The Guardian, showed the pair swerving through pedestrians shortly before the crash.

The moment of impact on a Perth footpath

As Phan walked along the footpath, Kemp’s scooter approached from behind at speed. He had no chance to step aside or brace. The impact knocked him to the ground, causing a severe head injury. Kemp and her passenger suffered only minor injuries.

Phan was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, where doctors treated a devastating brain injury. Despite their efforts, he died in hospital several days later. For his family, the crash was not a road statistic – it was the sudden loss of a husband, father and carer.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Phan’s widow described a home transformed by grief and practical hardship. The couple’s two adult sons both have high support needs. Without Phan, she told the judge, she is left trying to hold together a family whose “everyday” has been broken.

From tourist mishap to serious crime: inside the courtroom

What set this case apart – and ultimately led to a significant jail term – was the way Western Australia’s justice system treats e-scooters. In WA, an e-scooter is not a toy or a loophole around drink-driving laws. It sits firmly within the road safety framework.

Kemp pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death while under the influence of alcohol, a serious offence that can carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Other charges, including causing bodily harm, were later discontinued.

Judge Wendy Hughes, sentencing in the District Court, acknowledged that Kemp had not set out to kill anyone. But the combination of decisions – riding drunk, taking a passenger, weaving through pedestrians on a footpath in the CBD – amounted to dangerous driving in a high-risk environment.

According to coverage from Sky News and ITV News, the judge noted that Kemp continued drinking after the crash – behaviour the court heard was more about shock and lack of awareness of the severity of Phan’s injuries than callousness. Court reporters described Kemp as tearful while listening to Phan’s widow’s statement.

The sentence: four years in prison, lives changed on two continents

Kemp was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison, with a non-parole period of two years. The term was backdated to June 2025, reflecting time already spent in custody. Her driver’s licence was disqualified for two years. Realistically, she will remain in Australia’s prison system until at least mid-2027, long after most backpackers have finished their working holiday visas and returned home.

For Phan’s family, the sentence can never restore the life they lost. For Kemp’s family in the UK, it means years of separation, legal complexity and a daughter whose mid-twenties will be spent behind bars in a foreign country.

What the British backpacker e-scooter crash Perth case reveals about WA laws

The British backpacker e-scooter crash Perth case has become a touchpoint in Australia’s wider debate over how to regulate e-scooters in busy urban spaces.

In Western Australia, the rules are clear:

• Riders must be sober – drink-driving and drug-driving laws apply to e-scooters.
• Helmets are compulsory.
• No passengers are allowed on a single scooter.
• There are speed limits and age restrictions, and local councils can control where scooters operate.

Guidance from the WA government and road safety bodies, such as the Road Safety Commission, has repeatedly stressed that e-scooters need to be treated like other powered vehicles when it comes to risk and responsibility.

After a series of serious crashes in Perth and other Australian cities, some councils have paused or scaled back e-scooter hire schemes. The fatal collision that killed Thanh Phan has fed directly into that debate, reinforcing the message that poor behaviour on shared paths and footpaths can have devastating consequences.

Different worlds: how this looks from the UK

The case has also drawn attention in Britain, where the legal landscape for e-scooters is very different. In the UK, privately owned e-scooters are still largely banned from public roads and pavements, and only tightly controlled rental trials are allowed in selected areas.

In practice, though, thousands of riders use private scooters on UK streets every day, often with little understanding of the law. Sentences for e-scooter crashes tend to be shorter and less clearly aligned with mainstream drink-driving penalties than in Western Australia.

That contrast has become part of the story: for British audiences, the idea of a backpacker receiving a multi-year jail term for a scooter crash can feel shocking. For authorities in WA, the sentence reflects a deliberate policy choice – to treat e-scooters as serious vehicles, not a loophole around road rules.

Two families, one split second – and a warning to travellers

At the heart of this case are two families whose lives now look nothing like they did before that night on Murray Street. Phan’s widow must manage her grief while caring for two adult sons who depended on their father. Kemp’s parents, thousands of kilometres away, have watched a working holiday turn into a criminal sentence.

The crash is also a warning. For travellers, especially young backpackers moving through Australian cities, it is a reminder that local laws and expectations do not vanish on holiday. A scooter that feels harmless after a night out can, combined with alcohol and crowded footpaths, become a lethal machine.

For policymakers, the case will continue to shape how e-scooters are integrated into transport networks – and how much legal weight falls on riders who ignore the rules.

What to know before you step onto an e-scooter in Australia

For anyone considering hiring an e-scooter in Perth or elsewhere in Australia, legal and safety experts emphasise a few basic rules:

• Never ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Wear a helmet every time.
• Do not carry passengers.
• Respect speed limits and shared spaces with pedestrians.
• Check local council rules – they can differ between states and cities.

It’s easy to see e-scooters as a convenient way to get home or explore a new city. The British backpacker e-scooter crash Perth case shows how quickly that convenience can tip into tragedy – and how long the consequences can last.