Scooter rider critically injured in Clearwater accident

CLEARWATER — A 26-year-old Clearwater man remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday after he was thrown from a scooter during a traffic crash early Sunday morning on Sunset Point Road. Gregory Allen Hitchcock was traveling west on Sunset Point on a 2009 Aprilia scooter shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the Clearwater Police Department. He tried to pass a four-door 1990 Plymouth, also traveling west, but the car began turning left onto Stevenson Avenue. The scooter struck the driver's door of the Plymouth and the man was ejected, police said. Authorities continue to investigate the accident.