Woman Injured In Fort Lauderdale Scooter Accident Wants Better Regulations
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Scooter riding has become a popular activity in several parts of South Florida, but questions about safety has city officials looking to take action.
One woman doesn't plan to ride the scooters again, after what was supposed to be a fun ride through the beach turned dangerous.
Ausja Sugameli was seriously injured in May on Fort Lauderdale Beach, while she and her boyfriend were riding a scooter in the bike lane of A1A at Terramar.
"I got sideswiped by a truck. I actually fell from here, I fell into the bike lane. When I went to get up, the tire well of the trailer it was pulling hit me right here and it broke my ribs in 11 places," said Sugameli.
She spent three weeks in the hospital.
"I have four titanium plates now in my ribs and 28 screws and they're going to stay there forever," she said.
Trauma surgeons at Broward Health Medical Center put in titanium plates to help those broken ribs heal.
"Once we actually were able to line them up and put this titanium plate along the way that we screw in, we were able to realign the entire rib, let it heal appropriately but also reinforce it with the strip of titanium," said Dr. Jose Lozada.
While many find it convenient to get around on scooters, there have been complaints too - calling them a safety hazard and a nuisance.
Fort Lauderdale city commissioners are looking at possible new regulations including the geographic boundaries of where they can operate. For the summer, they're banned on the beach.
They could also look at what speed they can travel and parking issues.
Sugameli just hopes when someone hops on one, they keep safety in mind.
I would recommend making sure you know where you're going, you're not distracted, you're following all the safety precautions," Sugameli said.
City commissioners will once again be looking at the scooter issue as well as regulations when they meet again in August.