Two teenagers were rushed to the hospital, one of them in critical condition, after the scooter they were riding collided with an SUV in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Police described the crash as the latest in what appears to be a growing safety crisis in the city involving motor scooters.
According to police, the collision happened yesterday afternoon on Chopsey Hill Road, near the Route 8 connector. One of the two teenagers was left in serious condition and the other in critical condition after the scooter and the SUV came together.
Investigators said that the scooter involved had recently been stolen. In addition, a gun was recovered at the scene of the crash, adding another troubling element to an incident that had already left two young people badly hurt.
The crash was not an isolated one. Police had issued a safety advisory on Monday after a similar crash on the city's West End left two people who were on a scooter critically injured, underscoring how quickly these incidents have been piling up.
In all, authorities said there have been a total of five serious scooter crashes in Bridgeport in recent weeks. One of those crashes was fatal, a stark measure of the toll the surge in scooter incidents has taken across the city.
Police Chief Roderick Porter said the department is taking special measures to address the situation. Officials noted that the crashes are coming at a time of heavy demand on emergency crews, with summer under way and the Fourth of July weekend approaching, and more people and scooters out on the roads.
The string of crashes has put a spotlight on the dangers posed by the scooters, which are sometimes stolen and ridden at high speed through city streets. As the holiday weekend nears, police urged caution, warning that the combination of crowded roads and fast-moving scooters has already proved dangerous, and in at least one case, deadly.