Woman in coma after scooter accident

Ashanti Jordan has not woken up since the day six weeks ago when she hopped on a green-andblack scooter and took off onto a downtown Fort Lauderdale street.

A car hit her as she rode the for-rent scooter.

Today she lies in a vegetative state in the hospital with a fractured skull, a severe brain injury and multiple broken ribs. Doctors also had to remove a portion of her skull.

The family of the 27-year-old Fort Lauderdale woman is warning people that the scooters are dangerous — and that dockless scooter customers are being given bad information about where they’re supposed to ride the scooters.

“I just can’t even stand to see those scooters. It’s so traumatizing at this moment,” said her mom, Tracy Jordan. “It’s like every time I see someone on the scooter, it’s like they don’t understand the danger behind driving these scooters.”

Since being launched in November, officials say about 4,000 people a week are riding downtown and at the beach on scooters provided by four companies: Gotcha, Bird, Lime and Bolt.

City commissioners last week heard complaints from residents about the new way to get around the city, but they agreed to let the dockless scooters continue operating. The scooters are only allowed on sidewalks in the city.

But that’s not what at least one of the companies is telling customers, said attorney Todd Falzone, who is representing Ashanti Jordan, who was injured while riding a Lime scooter Dec. 28.

The Lime scooter app, as well as writing on the scooter itself, tells people using it not to ride on sidewalks, he said. The app message is repeated at least three times, he said.

“Lime is telling these riders to break the law. They’re telling them don’t ride on the sidewalks and then, as a result, these poor folks are in the middle of traffic. They’re riding down the roads,” said Falzone, of the Kelley/Uustal law firm, during a news conference Monday.

The company said in a statement that “the safety of our riders and the community is our highest priority” and “our thoughts remain with Ms. Jordan and her family,” but did not comment on the messages it gives users telling them not to ride on sidewalks.

There has been confusion about where the scooters can go. Even initial information put out by the city said they could be used in “streets, parks, sidewalks, etc.” That was the thinking at the time of Jordan’s incident.

But City Attorney Alain Boileau notified commissioners Jan. 17 that sidewalks were the only acceptable place. He said he’s aware that scooter companies are providing conflicting information.

“The language on the scooters is legally incorrect and something that obviously creates confusion and misinformation as it pertains to their use in Fort Lauderdale,” Boileau said in an email response to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The language will have to change and this is just one of the issues that will be addressed with the scooter companies.”

Jordan was struck by a passenger car at the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Southwest Fifth Street, Falzone said. That’s a short way away from Broward Health Medical Center, where she worked in security and where she now lies unconscious in the intensive care unit.

“She’s not doing good. It’s heartbreaking to see her in these conditions. We’re praying for her, hoping that the situation gets better over time,” Tracy Jordan said.

Her daughter, a Plantation High graduate, is the oldest of five children. Doctors won’t be able to give a prognosis until swelling of the brain goes down, which could take months, Tracy Jordan said. She’s clinging to hope that someday her daughter will be conscious again, able to talk and eat.

“I just want this nightmare to really be over with, but I understand it’s a long process, so I’m trying to be patient and I’m leaning on hope,” she said.

No charges have been filed against the car’s driver, but the scene was investigated by traffic homicide detectives because of Jordan’s grave condition, Falzone said.

State law prohibits the motorized scooters from being operated on streets, in bike lanes or paths. The state doesn’t allow them on sidewalks either, unless specifically authorized by a city. A number of cities have banned their use.

Falzone is concerned about proposals the state is considering to allow the scooters in traffic and encouraged people to contact legislators to oppose the changes because of the danger.

Fort Lauderdale has the most robust program in the state for allowing the dockless scooters. The four companies have permission to rent up to 1,700 scooters in the city.

City commissioners are concerned about the speed the scooters can travel on the sidewalks. The scooters are currently allowed to travel up to 15 mph, which commissioners said was too fast on sidewalks that are also being used by pedestrians.

Fort Lauderdale fire-rescue officials say they have responded to at least 35 scooter injuries, involving people ages 14 to 62, with four in the most serious “Level 1” trauma category.

A scooter struck a jogging Broward Circuit Judge Susan Alspector on State Road A1A. She fell, was injured and had to be hospitalized. In other incidents, a 14-year-old scooter user was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Federal Highway and a woman in her 50s was seriously injured riding a scooter inside the Kinney Tunnel.

“I just want everybody in the community to understand this is dangerous and this is wrong,” Tracy Jordan said. “These things can ultimately end your life.”

“I just want everybody in the community to understand this is dangerous and this is wrong. These things can ultimately end your life.” Tracy Jordan, Ashanti Jordan’s mom