My Recent Encounter with a Scooter

For my first entry, I am going to write about the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last month...I got hit by a motor scooter. On Saturday, October 11th I was walking to the homecoming football game, but I never made it. Here is what I remember: I was talking to my mom and following a large mass of people to the stadium. I was walking alone, since I was meeting my roommate at the game. I walked into the crosswalk, about 20 feet behind a large group of people. I think there was a car slowing down or stopped in the right lane, because there was something blocking my vision of the left lane. So I was caught a little off guard when I saw a moped heading right at me. The driver looked equally surprised. So much so that he lost control of the bike and laid it down. The scooter kept skidding along the road and knocked my feet out from under me. I have a knack for putting myself exactly where I shouldn't be, so when I tried to get out of the way of the scooter, I actually put myself even more directly in its path.

That is the last thing I remember before regaining consciousness and seeing a group of people standing over me. Everything between then and the time I got home is really fuzzy and dream-like. I remember hearing sirens and being aware of the blocked lane of traffic and rubber-neckers. I was really embarrassed that I was the one laying on the ground; I was the reason for the back-up. The EMT checked me out and released me. They offered to take me to the football game, but I elected to go home. My roommates later told me that I was repeating myself a little, and didn't always make sense. It is a weird experience to try to prove that you are coherent and can understand what is going on, but realize that you are kind of failing.

The only injuries I had were some bruises on my head, hip, and thigh. Those are mostly gone now.


The cool part of this experience is the fame that accompanied it. When people in my ward found out, I had many comments like, "That was you?" "I heard about that," and, my favorite, "I will always remember you because of that." I also made Police Beat, which was amazing. As it turns out, I was the third member of my family to make Police Beat, so I guess I was filling my role as Stovall. Anyway, here is the post: Oct. 11: A person riding a motor scooter hit a female student in the crosswalk at 450 East and 1430 North. She was on her way to the football game. The student was checked by the paramedics at the scene and released.

Okay, so I am grateful that it was a motor scooter, because if it had been a motorcycle or car, my injuries probably wouldn't have been so minor. As it was, I was lucky that I didn't get a concussion or break any bones. However, I feel like the scooter part is kind of lame, like getting hit by a bike. How hard are those to avoid? When I heard those stories, I always wonder how the bicyclist and the pedestrian were unable to miss each other. My only consolation is that the scooter was on its side, so it actually was harder to avoid.