VENTURA : Parking Enforcement Officer Hurt in Crash
A civilian parking enforcement officer was in good condition Thursday at a Ventura hospital after an accident in which her three-wheeled scooter overturned and skidded for 75 feet on its side, authorities said.
Rene Richards, 36, suffered moderate injuries when the left tire of her 800-pound parking vehicle struck the median of westbound Telephone Road between Petit and Utica avenues at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Ventura Police Cpl. John Turner said. He said she was driving below the speed limit.
The scooter, one of the department’s three new vehicles that replaced their lighter, less stable predecessors, turned onto its right side after hitting the curb and caused injuries to Richards’ right shoulder and hand, Turner said. She was wearing her seat belt.
“Her injuries would have been greatly exaggerated if she had been in (one of the lighter vehicles),” Turner said.
The scooter, estimated to cost about $6,000, was totaled, police said. The cause of the accident was under investigation.
Richards’ husband, Ventura Police Officer Jack Richards, is involved with the D.A.R.E. drug education program, Turner said.
Turner, who has been in the traffic division since 1988, said he could not recall a similar accident involving a parking enforcement vehicle.
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