Scooter Crash!

I was working at my computer this morning when I heard sirens outside. This is not unusual because the street I live on is a main route for emergency vehicles. I paused to listen to hear if they stopped nearby. (When I first moved in, the fire department showed up at my building for a gas leak without the building fire alarm being activated).

When it sounded like the sirens stopped nearby, I jumped up and threw on some clothes and dashed outside. I looked north and could see some sort of vehicular accident. As I got closer, I saw a motor scooter on the ground in the middle of the street. The EMTs were feverishly working on a tatoo'd man-it didn't look promising so I said a prayer. I didn't take any pictures of the victim lying in the street.

View looking north from my building. The scooter is down just
in front of the fire engine. The SUV at left was involved in the
accident but did not seem to suffer any damage-however, for
some reason it was trucked away.

The scooter was heading North when the driver reportedly
lost control and crashed.

After the ambulance left, the police spent hours documenting the scene. The accident occurred near noon and the street was closed until 5 p.m. Even though the accident occurred several lots away, the police would not let anyone enter the area to access our parking lot. Consequently, we did not have mail delivered today. That was something of a disappointment as I was expecting a package.

After the police left, I went for a walk. You can see the markings on the road related to the accident scene.

The white markings show where crash debris was located. Sand was laid down
to soak up gasoline and oil from the scooter.

The "H" marks where a helmet was found. It is not clear
if the operator was wearing the helmet or if  it merely
fell off the scooter during the crash.

Looking south on Main Street.

Postscript: I was surprised to read in the papers the next day that the scooter operator was still alive. Since those initial reports, there have not been any updates, so I don't know how the injured man is doing. The reports stated life threatening injuries.

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Links:

http://we-ha.com/scooter-collides-suv-south-main-in-west-hartford/

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-west-hartford-serious-accident-south-main-20160507-story.html

http://www.wfsb.com/story/31916528/south-main-street-in-west-hartford-closed-following-serious-crash

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Written Saturday May 21, 2016.