OCEAN CITY — A popular local man is slowly healing this week after suffering critical injuries when struck by a vehicle on Coastal Highway while riding a scooter last Friday.
Around 2:45 p.m., police responded to the area of 45th Street and Coastal Highway for a reported motor vehicle accident involving a scooter. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed the operator of the scooter, later identified as long-time city employee and local youth lacrosse volunteer Dave Quilter, unconscious in the roadway.
The investigation revealed a Cadillac passenger vehicle had attempted to make a left turn from the northbound turn lane through stopped traffic into the 45th Street Village. The driver of the vehicle, identified as James T. Carrollton, 23, of Toms River, N.J., made a left turn and failed to yield the right-of-way to the scooter operator, who was traveling south in the bus lane. Carrollton was issued a citation for failing to yield.
Quilter was flown to PRMC for treatment of serious injuries. After spending a few days in critical condition, Quilter appears to be on the mend with positive updates posted by family members on social networks, but a long recuperation ahead of him. Quilter has reportedly been taken off a ventilator and been sitting up and talking, although he remains in the Intensive Care Unit and likely will through the week at least, according to family members.
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Rick Meehan called on his colleagues and those in attendance to keep Quilter in their thoughts and prayers.
“I would also like to report to the council, we had a city employee that was in a tragic accident last week, David Quilter, who works for our Public Works Maintenance Department,” he said. “David is a great guy. He has been in Ocean for a long time and is a former Ocean City business person … He was in a very tragic and serious accident while riding his moped home from work on Friday and I would like to report, all things considered, David is doing very well, and hopefully he is going to be okay, but he really suffered some traumatic injuries so we all have our thoughts and prayers with David.”