STATE COLLEGE — Penn State football player De’Andre Cook and the university are being sued by the father of a 6-year-old boy Cook hit while on his e-scooter.
According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Nov. 12, on Sunday, Feb. 18, just after 6 p.m., Cook was riding his GoTax GX1 Electric Scooter down North Burrowes Road when he hit the child who was walking in a crosswalk with their parent. According to court documents, the child suffered significant injuries, including two pelvic fractures, a broken right foot, a head injury, a forehead contusion and a scalp laceration which caused him to receive four staples in the head.
Cook pleaded guilty to the summary citation for failing to stop. Along with this he also pleaded guilty to failing to stop at a stop sign and failing to yield to a pedestrian. Cook paid $238 in fines.
Penn State University is also being sued as a part of the lawsuit for negligence.
According to the lawsuit, the university broke its own policy by allowing motor-driven vehicles like electric scooters on campus. The Pennsylvania Highway Code does not allow for electric scooters on public highways, roads, sidewalks and paths, and the lawsuit alleged that Penn State shows “special favoritism” to student-athletes by allowing them to use e-scooters.
Shane Richard, the father of the boy, is seeking more than $100,000 for the two counts of negligence.
