VIDEO - Husband left with severe brain damage, wife speaks out against scooters
Posted: Tue 5:56 PM, Oct 08, 2019  | 
Updated: Wed 8:22 AM, Oct 09, 2019
Their lives forever changed by an electric scooter accident this summer in San Diego. Now the Omaha family is speaking out as the city soon wraps up its 6 month trial period with the scooters and eyes a decision on whether they should stay or go.
It was about nine weeks ago Carli Jacobsen first wondered if she’d ever had a normal life with her husband Aaron, again.
"One of them took their shirt off to help cover the blood on my head and one of them helped make sure I wasn't chocking on my vomit,” said Aaron.
Aaron doesn't remember that; he's reciting what his colleagues told him about the night in San Diego when their electric scooter ride landed him in critical condition with severe brain trauma.
Carli was on a trip with one of their daughters in Georgia when a late-night call came in from Aaron's phone.
"So I answered it and it was a police officer who was in the ICU with him,” recalls Carli.
She flew to be with Aaron and learned more details.
"One guy told me it looked like I hit a pothole or something uneven on the ground and when I crashed there was a fracture on the side of my head blood out the back of my head and blood coming out my ear,” said Aaron.
They spent three weeks in the hospital in San Diego. Medical teams monitoring Aaron, eventually starting to work with him on some initial rehab. Getting his brain to make important connections. It’s work they've continued back home. Aaron still struggles to find words and recall conversations at times. But they're grateful, knowing it could have ended worse.
“He could have been killed. He could have had lasting injuries. We could be in a conversation right now about what life looks like moving forward, but instead, we're talking about why there shouldn't be scooters in Omaha.”
Carli is the more vocal one the topic, and her message extends to beyond local leaders.
"If I see anyone I know or care about who I think might get on a scooter I would say don't do it, it's not worth it. There are other ways you can go fast and have fun."
Omaha's pilot period comes to completion November 15.
The mayor's office says a decision about their permanent fate is expected early next year. A report will be compiled examining the pilot period before any decisions are made.