Good Samaritans save man trapped under car in Delaware scooter crash

NEWPORT, Del. (WPVI) — A 59-year-old man was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon in Newport, Delaware, when his scooter collided with a car, causing him to get pinned underneath.

The crash happened shortly after 3 p.m. in the 600 block of South Maryland Avenue, outside a restaurant where Todd Holtsverry is the manager. Video showed the man riding his scooter against traffic when a Ford Taurus made a right turn out of a parking lot and struck him.

“The guy pulled out from the parking lot here and just got him,” said Holtsverry, who described seeing the man’s legs sticking out from under the car.

Before emergency crews arrived, several bystanders rushed to help. One of them, Calvin Winn, used a jack from his car to lift the vehicle off the injured man.

“First thing I said, ‘Get the jack.’ I jacked it up, and that’s when they called the ambulance and everything else,” Winn said.

Photos from the scene show the car elevated and a large emergency response involving police, fire, and EMS personnel. According to the New Castle County Department of Public Safety EMS Division, the man was treated for chest injuries and possibly internal injuries.

Witnesses said he was conscious after the crash and was asking for his phone.

“I don’t know if he was trying to call family, if he thought he was going to call 911,” Holtsverry said. “I can only imagine, you’re pinned underneath a car, what kind of trauma that is.”

The incident is the latest in a series of scooter-related crashes in the Delaware Valley. In June, two preteen girls collided with a vehicle in Aston Township, resulting in one fatality. In July, a pregnant nurse was hit while riding her scooter in South Philadelphia. In August, two 14-year-old boys were thrown from a scooter after colliding with a pickup truck in Springfield.

On Wednesday, the Action Cam captured footage of police removing another scooter from a crash scene. The operator was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

State police have not released the identity of the scooter operator, and there is no word yet on possible charges.