WICKER PARK — The Wicker Park cyclist who was badly injured last month after a scooter rider crashed into him wants the city and scooter companies to help him identify the person who hit him.
On Monday, cyclist Allyson Medeiros, 32, filed a petition for discovery in civil court. By filing a petition for discovery, attorney Bryant Greening hopes to receive records that can help identify who hit his client. The petition was first reported by CBS.
“When the scooter rider struck Allyson and fled, he left Allyson bloody on the street with no recourse. No justice,” Greening said. “We are demanding that the scooter companies and the city provide location data to help us identify who injured Allyson. We need to know.”
Medeiros is being represented by Legal Ride Share, a Chicago-based firm that consults with Uber, Lyft and scooter-related accident and injury claims across the country.
Since Chicago launched its pilot scooter program in June, Legal Ride Share’s phones have been “ringing regularly,” Greening said.
Greening said he expects the city and scooter companies will be called before a judge within the coming weeks.
“When people are hurt, the companies need to step forward and take responsibility for that,” Greening said. “And our practice is really entirely based on making sure innocent injured people aren’t left footing the bill for damages that they didn’t cause.”
Medeiros could not be reached Tuesday morning.
At about 5:30 p.m. on June 20, Medeiros told police he was riding his bicycle South on Leavitt Street in Wicker Park when a scooter rider on the wrong side of the road who was “weaving in and out of traffic” crashed into him.
The scooter rider took off, leaving the cyclist unconscious and badly injured, police said.
RELATED: Scooter Rider Takes Off After Crashing Into Bicyclist, Leaving Him Badly Injured
A tattoo artist without health insurance, Medeiros was hospitalized after the crash and left with fractured facial bones, four broken teeth, a broken nose and cuts that required more than 20 stitches, he wrote in posts on Instagram and GoFundMe.
There were concerns about air getting into his chest cavity as well.
A GoFundMe for Medeiros with a goal of $50,000 has raised $11,921 as of Tuesday.
“Allyson’s case is extremely serious,” Greening said. “He had multiple fractures. He’s required surgeries. This is a claim that everybody needs to take very seriously. It’s evidence of what can happen when scooters are operated in a negligent or reckless manner.”
The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which is monitoring the scooter pilot program, is tracking injuries from the scooters by asking hospitals to report them to the Department of Public Health.
A Business Affairs and Consumer Protection spokesman told a Block Club reporter last month the department expected and has received reports of injuries and will be “looking very closely at” them.
“We take that very seriously,” said spokesman Isaac Reichman.
In a statement, the department added, “The safety of all residents of Chicago is our top priority throughout this four-month pilot and we are working closely with the Chicago Police Department to investigate this incident.”
Other cities where the scooters have been around for longer have seen deaths. Just this week, Nashville’s mayor announced plans to cancel that city’s pilot after a scooter rider died in a crash while drunk.
The scooters have proven controversial among Chicagoans. There are even dueling Twitter accounts about the scooters, with one account — @ChicagoScooters — documenting when the scooters are used and stored appropriately and another — @ChicagoFails — highlighting when they aren’t.
The scooters were popular enough that there were 11,000 rides on them during their first weekend and fans say they’re more environmentally friendly than car rides.
But critics have expressed concerns the riders aren’t following the law by doing things like riding on The 606. Some are also worried the electric, dockless scooters will clutter sidewalks and make it harder for people with disabilities to get around.
The city’s pilot of the scooters started June 15 and is expected to last four months. Ten companies have 250 scooters operating in various parts of the West and Northwest sides.
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