Local Seeks $500K From Motorist After Scooter Accident

OCEAN CITY -- In what could become a common occurrence with the proliferation of scooters in the resort and their inevitable interactions with motor vehicles, a Salisbury man has filed suit seeking $500,000 from a Massachusetts woman, alleging she was negligent when she struck him with her car while he was riding a scooter on Coastal Highway last September.

The case was originally filed in Worcester County Circuit Court in February, but last week was transferred to U.S. District Court. The amended complaint filed by the plaintiff, Jeffrey Jester of Wicomico County, alleges the driver, Joann Allen of Massachusetts, was negligent when the vehicle she was driving made an abrupt left turn and collided with the scooter operator, launching him into the air and causing serious injuries.

According to the complaint, last Sept. 5, Jester was “carefully, prudently and legally” traveling on a scooter in the northbound bus lane on Coastal Highway and was approaching 41st Street when he was violently struck from the left side by a Honda driven by Allen, who was traveling in the far right lane for vehicles. Allen made an abrupt right turn and struck Jester from the left side as he was entering the intersection.

The force of the collision caused Jester’s scooter to spin 360 degrees and into a metal pole, which then catapulted him into the air and onto a bush. According to the complaint, the collision was “caused by the recklessness, carelessness and negligence of Allen in that she failed to make a right turn from the right curbway and edge of roadway, failed to observe due care and precaution, and to maintain proper and adequate control of her motor vehicle, failed to keep a proper lookout for other vehicles and failed to exercise reasonable care in the operation of her motor vehicle.”

According to the complaint, as a direct and proximate result of Allen’s negligence, Jester sustained serious personal injuries and damages and continues to incur substantial expenses for medical treatment and lost income for time at work while he recovered. In addition, due to his injuries and subsequent medical treatments, Jester was forced to withdraw to withdraw from the fall semester of his senior year at Salisbury University last year.

As a result, Jester is seeking an award of compensatory damages totaling at least $500,000 against the defendant in the case.