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1 July 2015
- From the section Technology
A man suspected of piloting a drone that knocked a woman unconscious in the US has come forward, police have said.
The woman was hit on the head by the device after it crashed into a building and fell on to her.
Detectives are investigating the case, which happened at a gay pride parade in Seattle on Sunday.
The incident is the latest in which a person has been injured by a consumer drone that either crashed or cut them with its rotor blades.
According to Seattle police’s blog, the injured woman’s boyfriend caught her as she fell to the ground. One of her friends handed the damaged drone to police, along with photographs of the man they believed was piloting it. A man later contacted the police.
The police blog said that the drone weighed about 2lb (0.9kg) and sold for about $1,200 (£770). However, Seattle police did not specify the model or manufacturer.
An off-duty firefighter helped treat the 25-year-old woman, who was reported to have made a full recovery. But, according to drone expert Prof David Dunn of the University of Birmingham, the incident illustrated a growing problem.
He told the BBC that drones posed a danger because their popularity had outstripped both the regulation and education on how to use them safely.
He said that, although it may be considered a heavy-handed approach by some people, the government needed to consider licensing the devices.
Last month, the singer Enrique Iglesias fractured his hand onstage at a concert when he was hit by the blades of a camera-equipped drone that he had reached up to take hold of.
In December last year, the Brooklyn Daily reported that one of its own photographers had been hurt by a small drone that had hit her in the face.
And, in April of the same year, there were reports that an Australian athlete had been hurt by a drone that had fallen from the sky and landed on her.
