Penn State, football player sued after 6-year-old was injured by electric scooter on campus

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The father of a young boy who was injured in an electric scooter crash at University Park filed a negligence lawsuit Tuesday against Penn State and the football player who hit him.

Shane Richard, of Union County, said in the lawsuit his son was seriously injured when hit about 6:10 p.m. Feb. 18 by an e-scooter operated by Penn State football freshman defensive tackle De’Andre Cook.

The child was walking in the crosswalk near 223 N. Burrowes Road when he was hit at what the filing described as a high rate of speed. Attorney Rich Godshall told the Centre Daily Times on Friday the child was walking with his parents when he was hit.

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Cook is listed as 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 282 pounds. The child, who was 6 years old at the time, weighed 55 pounds, the filing said.

He was treated for two pelvic fractures, a broken foot and received four staples in his head, Godshall wrote in the filing. Godshall declined Friday to share an update on the child’s condition.

Cook pleaded guilty in March to two summary citations; he paid $238 in fines.

Penn State was accused in the lawsuit of violating its policy that bans e-scooters on campus by providing them only to student-athletes, something the lawsuit cast as “special favoritism.”

A Penn State spokesman declined comment Friday, citing the university’s policy against generally speaking publicly about ongoing litigation.

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Electric scooters are considered motor-driven devices, which are banned from campus paths and roadways in most circumstances.

“Motor-driven devices that do not meet the PA Vehicle Code requirements for operation on a public highway are prohibited from use on university property,” Penn State’s official policy reads.

The lawsuit seeks more than $100,000. Cook has not appeared in a game this season for the Nittany Lions.

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