UrbanNerd.com

From the Staten Island Advance (NYC): A police officer from the North Shore’s 120th Precinct suffered a leg injury when he fell off his scooter yesterday morning during a minor accident near the St. George Ferry Terminal, police said.

The officer, said to be in his 40s, was traveling on Bay Street toward the ferry terminal shortly before 7:30 a.m. when his scooter skidded on the wet and oily pavement, hitting the rear of a sedan stopped for a red light at Bay Street and Richmond Terrace, according to police sources.

Police said they didn’t know how fast the scooter was going.

An officer responding to the scene suffered a laceration of the forehead, police said; it was unclear how the second officer was injured.

Both officers were listed in stable condition at St. Vincent’s Hospital, West Brighton, according to police sources and a hospital spokeswoman.

The extent of damage to the red Pontiac Grand Prix with which the officer collided was not known.

A rainstorm had slicked Staten Island roadways just in time for the morning commute.

Having been hit by an SUV once, this is not a story I enjoy posting. SO how do we know this was an improper lane change? Do we only have the SUV driver’s statement on this?

An accident involving a scooter and an SUV snarled traffic along Interstate 405 Friday morning, police said.

It happened in the northbound lanes, north of Highway 26, about 8:45 a.m. when the scooter rider made an improper lane change and crashed into the rear passenger door of a Ford Explorer, according to police.

The driver of the Explorer, 26-year-old Anna Reichow, was not injured, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz with the Portland Police Bureau.

The driver of the scooter, a woman in her 40s, was transported to Oregon Health and Science University Hospital in critical but stable condition. Police have not released her name.

Story Source

From The Evansville Courier:

A 16-year-old North High School student was killed when the scooter she was driving was involved in an accident.

Sarah Lynette Robertson of Evansville was driving her red 2002 Honda Elite scooter south on Weinbach Avenue approaching Illinois Street at 4:09 p.m. Monday when she turned right, straight into the path of a westbound 1993 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Leonard D. Martin, 19, of Evansville, according to police reports.

Witnesses told police Martin stopped at the stop sign but then continued through the intersection, hitting Robertson from behind as she turned in front of him. Robertson tried to swerve out of Martin’s path, but lost control and then fell underneath his car, according to police reports.

Robertson was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Monday.

No charges have been filed.

The exact cause of death is pending an autopsy report scheduled for today, according to Don Erk, Vanderburgh County Coroner.

From the Daily News:

A 24-year-old woman was killed yesterday after she went flying off of her Vespa scooter and slammed into a tree in Queens, police said.

The woman, whose name was not released by cops, was heading eastbound on Queens Blvd. with a male friend when she lost control of the Vespa near 66th St. in Elmhurst and was ejected about 3:25 a.m., cops said.

She was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead at 5 p.m., cops said.

The cause of the crash was unclear, police said. The woman’s male companion was treated at Elmhurst for neck and back injuries, they added.

WAPATO — A motorcycle rider returning from a rally by a group opposing the state’s mandatory helmet law died after crashing into a pickup truck on U.S. 97 outside this lower Yakima Valley town.

Alcohol was suspected in the death of Jason Irvine, 27, of Yakima, who was wearing a helmet while returning from an annual rally at the Toppenish fairgrounds by American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, or ABATE, Washington State Patrol Lt. James W. Keightley said.

A rally representative would not comment to the Yakima Herald-Republic. According to ABATE’s Web site, the group does not advocate riding without a helmet, only that riders be given a choice.

Irvine and another biker were northbound when a Ford F-150 ahead of them pulled to the shoulder to check a possible mechanical problem about 2:20 p.m., Keightley said.

The first rider swung around the truck, but Irvine hit the left rear corner of the vehicle and remained with the motorcycle for about 80 feet before coming to a stop on the roadway.

Irvine, who was pronounced dead at the scene, might have been struck by a second pickup.

Story Source

I crashed my new GTS today. It’s a good thing I have full insurance coverage. I was coming down a road, not paying as close attention as I should have (kind of on auto pilot). An oncoming pickup was drifting into my lane, I over compensated and swerved to the right, towards the curb. I hit my throttle more than I should have. Either I could have gone down with the bike and hurt myself, or ditch the bike and stay safe. So I ditched the bike. Not a scratch on me… can’t say the same for the bike. (click pics to zoom in and see the carnage close up)

The driver of a Honda scooter was taken to St. John’s Regional Hospital with life threatening injuries after a motor vehicle accident today at National Avenue and Seminole Street.

The accident involved a Ford truck pulling a trailer, in addition to the scooter, according to a report from the Springfield Police Department.

Police said the scooter driver, Luke Hartman, 21, of Marshfield was not wearing a helmet. The truck’s driver was uninjured.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to call the department at 864-1810.

Story Source

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — One person was killed and another hospitalized after an accident between a scooter and car Thursday night near the University of Miami.

According to police, the scooter was traveling south on U.S. Highway 1 at about 9 p.m. when the driver of the motorized vehicle turned left on 61st Street into the path of an Audi A-4 that was traveling north.

Both people on the scooter were ejected. Northbound lanes of U.S. 1 were temporarily closed while police and rescue workers assisted the injured and cleared the debris.

Police said both riders were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where one of them later died.

Police have not released the identities of the victims. Local 10’s Alex Alvarez said the driver of the Audi is a University of Miami student from New York.

Story Source

This story is still in the realm of “hearsay”, however, I picked it up from this thread on the New York Scooter Club Forum, which got was gotten from this post on gawker.com. The Gawker write up is quoted below, the picture above is an undated photo of Gandolfini riding his scoot in NYC.

Enjoying my morning coffee today at the corner of Hudson and Clarkson when I hear a sickening skid, then crunch, then cries of pain. A cab making a right on Clarkson hit some poor big bearded guy and knocked him clear off his scooter, helmet flying. He’s sprawled out in pain on the street. So myself and other concerned people walk over to get a closer look to see whether he’s OK. The cabbie also steps out of his cab to see. The guy on the ground, after about a minute of writhing in pain, sticks his arm up to have the cabbie help him up. I was about to use my cell to call 911 when I see that the guy on the ground is James Gandolfini. That’s right, Tony Soprano. My cell phone then turned into a camera (as did all the other bystanders) for a real crappy, indecipherable picture.

TWO motorcyclists, one from Marlborough, have been killed in a collision on the A360 in Wiltshire.

A scooter ridden by a 22-year-old man made a right turn and collided with a Triumph motorbike being driven in the opposite direction.

The Triumph rider, from Marlborough, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The scooter driver from Orcheston was airlifted to Salisbury District Hospital but later died. Police are appealing for witnesses to Monday night’s accident.

The road was closed for more than three hours while the collision was investigated.

Story Source