A 33-year-old man was seriously injured when he crashed with a tanker truck in Tampa Thursday evening, June 20, 2019. According to Tampa Police, the accident happened when the scooter rider was traveling northbound in the bike lane on N. 20th Street, and the scooter veered a bit off course and was struck by the tanker traveling in the same direction.
Local witnesses say the scooter was demolished, and at one point, the rider was lying on the ground. The rider was taken to a local hospital and is listed in critical condition.
The driver of the tanker stopped at the scene and was cooperating with authorities. The accident is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed at this time.
Update: We are deeply saddened to learn that this man has succumbed to his injuries: Tampa Bay Times.
Scooters and Tanker Accident
Obviously, a scooter is no match for a tanker truck, so, the idea is to keep them apart. To do this, Tampa has bike lanes that allow bikes, e-bikes, and scooters. Just a few days before this accident, scooters were restricted to sidewalks, but Governor DeSantis signed a bill on June 18, 2018, that allowed Florida cities to make their own rules regarding bikes and other similar vehicles that determine where they can travel.
This was a huge win for Lime and other companies, and many people will be glad to see at least some of the scooters off of the sidewalks and into the street. However, the downside is that with scooters being in the streets in the bike lanes, this puts them alongside the cars which, as this story shows, can be risky for the scooter rider.
Scooter Injuries
When a scooter crashes with just about anything, it can be serious for the rider. The speed limit for scooters in Tampa is 15 mph, but at that speed, a crash can produce a fair amount of damage and injury. You should also consider the vehicle involved in the collision. Just about any motor vehicle outweighs a scooter and rider by a factor of at least 20, and even a small bump can be deadly for the scooter rider.
Larger vehicles like tankers and tractor-trailers can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. In addition, any contact with one is more likely due to the large blind spots on these larger trucks.
Once scooters hit the ride-sharing scene, local emergency rooms have seen a huge rise in the number of injured scooter riders. Some of the most common injuries are:
- Head Injuries
- Shattered elbows and knees
- Broken ribs
- Deep contusions
- Road Rash
- Face fractures
- Fractured wrists
What if I’ve Been Injured in a Scooter Accident?
The first thing to do is to attend to your immediate medical needs, but then you may want to consider speaking to an attorney about your circumstances. There are many questions about insurance and compensation that get raised when injuries occur on these scooters.
Whose insurance will pay? What if I’m at fault, can any of my medical bills be paid? Can the scooter company be made to pay?
Present all these questions—and many more—to an attorney familiar with these scooters, insurance, and personal injury. At RHINO Lawyers, our personal injury team offer a free consultation where we can evaluate your case and outline where your compensation might come from.
RHINO Lawyers is the powerful, results-driven law firm, that takes Insurance Companies and Bullies “head-on!” We describe our bold modern approach to “Accident & Personal Injury Law” and “Our Personal Mission” to empower Florida’s families to “Take Charge!”
