*** Scooter rider injured in collision ***

Kennewick, Washington -- 07/16/2004
A 14-year-old Kennewick boy on a motorized scooter
broke his leg and shattered his knee Tuesday afternoon
after he collided with a car.

The accident occurred a week before the Kennewick City
Council is scheduled to review a proposed ordinance that
would regulate scooters.

It's also the second incident involving a scooter rider and a vehicle
in the past month. The first killed Jordan Davis, 10, of West Richland.

Kennewick police said Josh T. Chadwick was riding his gas-powered
scooter at 3:31 p.m. going westbound in the eastbound lane of 19th
Avenue in Kennewick.

The boy swerved his red scooter to go around a parked
Verizon truck in the eastbound lane and moved into the
westbound lane, said Kennewick Officer Mike Gaines.
When he swerved, he collided with an eastbound blue
2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

"He ran right out into the lane of travel," Gaines said.

The Cruiser, driven by Jean A. Aust, a schoolteacher from
Kennewick, carried the teen 60 feet, Gaines said. The smashed
scooter was crunched under the front fender of Aust's car.

Josh was wearing a helmet, and it saved him from more
serious injuries, Gaines said. "It protected his skull from
striking the pavement," he said.

Josh was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco with a
broken right leg, broken right knee and cuts on his face and
shoulders. He was listed in stable condition Tuesday night,
a Lourdes spokeswoman said.

The boy had no recollection of the collision, Gaines said.
He said the investigation was continuing, and the case likely
will be sent to the city attorney's office for review.

The accident occurred as area communities have been increasingly
concerned about the safety of scooter operators driving on city
streets and sidewalks.

Kennewick City Council members plan to discuss a proposed
ordinance July 20 that could limit scooter use to people age 16
or older. The ordinance also could require that people riding
scooters follow the flow of traffic and travel in areas that are
marked as 25 mph or less. Helmets and reflectors also would
be required.

On July 6, the Pasco City Council unanimously approved an
ordinance that makes it illegal for kids younger than 12 to operate
a scooter. Scooters are banned on sidewalks, city parks, multipurpose
park trails and any city street with a speed limit greater than 25 mph.

West Richland also has discussed the scooter issue but an ordinance
hasn't been proposed. Jordan Davis died June 5 after a minibike he
was riding ran in front of a truck.

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