Scooter Rider Critically Injured After Clearwater Accident

A 26-year-old man riding a scooter suffered life-threatening injuries after trying to pass a turning vehicle early Sunday morning in Clearwater.

Tasha M. Kelly, 21, and Katie F. White, 19, both of Clearwater, were traveling westbound on Sunset Point Road in a 1990, four-door Plymouth.

Kelly tried to turn left onto Stevenson Avenue around 1:11 a.m. when Gregory Allen Hitchcock, who was riding a 2009 Aprillia scooter, tried to pass her at the intersection. Instead, Hitchcock hit her driver side door and was ejected from his scooter, according to Clearwater Police.

Hitchcock, 26, was not wearing a helmet.

Clearwater Fire and Rescue paramedics determined Hitchcock's injuries were life threatening, and he was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he is listed in critical condition, according to investigators. For the rider, alcohol is believed to be a factor, according to police.

Charges or citations are pending the outcome of the investigation, which continues.

*updated 10:58 p.m. Nov. 26, 2012.