By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — A scooter-riding police officer on Central Park's West Drive suffered neck and back injuries after an accident with a traffic light signal pole Thursday.
How did the accident happen? Depends who you ask.
Police officials said the pole fell on top of the police scooter, causing the officer to lose control of the three-wheeled vehicle and tip it over onto its side.
But a runner, who said he was less than 50 feet from the accident scene, said the scooter lost control first and then hit the pole, causing it to fall on the vehicle.
"The light pole hit the scooter and that's the reason the scooter lost control," said Joseph Cavitolo, an NYPD spokesman, citing a woman walking her dog as an eyewitness. He didn't know the reason the light pole fell.
Upper East Side runner Stephane, who declined to give his last name, said he saw the scooter whiz by, cutting off a white SUV from the left, then veer into the bike lane before smashing into the poll.
"The driver lost control because he was going too fast and tried to maneuver in a way that is not compatible with a three-wheeled vehicle," Stephane, 40, hypothesized. "Upon impact, the pole was uprooted from the ground and flew into the air."
Stephane said he had been running in Central Park three to six times a week for 10 years, and tried to avoid running there during times when it's open to traffic, he said.
"I could have been killed by that scooter. I was thinking it would be a bike or taxi, but not a cop's scooter," he said. "Luckily for me, I didn't start running five seconds earlier than I did."
