UGA 5-star LB Ray Drew injured in Sunday scooter accident
Ray Drew poses for his AJC Super 11 photo last summer. (Photo by Jason Getz)
ATHENS – Another weekend, another scooter crash.
The latest victim is linebacker Ray Drew. The star freshman from Thomasville apparently wiped out on his scooter Sunday coming home from church and suffered a sprained shoulder as a result. UGA announced the accident in a two-sentence news release sent out at 9:01 a.m. Monday morning. The exact extent of Drew’s injuries is unknown but availability for practice is “day-to-day,” according to UGA director of sports medicine Ron Courson.
Drew was a five-star-rated recruiting prospect and high school All-American coming out of Thomas County Central. He’s currently running second-team weakside (or Will) linebacker behind junior Cornelius Washington.
Drew was not available for comment but sent out a tweet on Twitter.com indicating his was going to be OK. “I’m so glad I don’t look like what I’ve been through . . . praise God.”
Defensive end Derrick Lott suffered a gash on his right leg in a scooter accident earlier this summer and was sidelined for a month. Linebacker Chase Vasser had an accident with injuries in the spring of 2010. And, of course, baseball player Chance Veazey was paralyzed after a scooter accident in 2009.
Dozens of football players and other UGA athletes use the small, motorized scooters to zip around campus because they’re easy to park and inexpensive to operate. An area next to the Butts-Mehre football complex is known as “scooter alley” because of the dozens of scooters parked there daily.
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328 comments Add your comment
Randall "Pink" Floyd
August 15th, 2011
11:26 am
Frank Lane is on to something. Ban cars from campus, not scooters. Scooters are very practical on a campus like UGA’s. However, Richt should prohibit players from riding scooters anywhere OFF campus, as the risks associated with them is exponentially higher. Drew was hurt coming or going to church. This was off-campus injury and more than likely involved a car to some extent.
Randall "Pink" Floyd
August 15th, 2011
11:28 am
Pound Dawg I rode a mountain bike in Athens every day for 4 years. Can’t imagine NOT having one. It was perfect for navigating that city and campus.
*All-Involved
August 15th, 2011
11:29 am
LawDawg, you took the words right out of my mouth. Especially *Awbarn!
what_what
August 15th, 2011
11:29 am
Let’s assume these are 49cc scooters, so that the riders don’t need insurance, plates or a motorcycle license.
Has anyone ever looked at the weight limit of these things? They’re usually around 220lbs or so. Of course a heavier rider can use it, but performance (speed, handling, etc…) will be diminished.
Sure these people need Scooter 101, but also, they just might be too big for their little scooters.
Harry from da Burn
August 15th, 2011
11:32 am
Hey don’t forget the late great Caleb King driving on the wrong side of the road on a scooter…
Bruce
August 15th, 2011
11:34 am
Wonder if they all have a motorcycle license? We were told at my son’s orientation at UGA in July that if the scooters were over 50cc and went over 30 mph they were classified as motorcycles and required a motorcycle license. We had thought about getting my son one before we found this out. Kinda doubt a 50 cc engine would propel these big guys. LOL.
AltamahaDawg
August 15th, 2011
11:34 am
An email address to Dr. Adams? I don’t think that would too difficult to find out. Come on dude, no need to flex in front of the crowd.
Morgan Kemp
August 15th, 2011
11:34 am
I’m very glad Mr. Drew was not injured! He will be a STAR for Georgia! And what an outstanding young man!! At a minimum, I hope the UGA AD requires head gear, pads, etc when riding these scooters. I don’t argue their appeal to get across the large, beautiful UGA campus…but let’s be safe and vigilant! Looking forward to Boise State on SEPT 3!
harley davidson
August 15th, 2011
11:35 am
What happened to walking to class or riding the bus. I was there 3 yrs and did fine walking. Might help out with us running out of gas in the 4th quarter too.
JohnFromMilledgeville
August 15th, 2011
11:39 am
What happened to buying these kids new vehicles with airbags? What in the world is college football coming to? This puts us at a total disadvantage with Auburn, Alabama, Florida and LSU. J/K Drew, Hope you get back on the field real soon!! God bless you….John
The General Feeling
August 15th, 2011
11:39 am
Are you mutt fans really blaming the scooters?
carrie
August 15th, 2011
11:40 am
I’m finding it hard to believe all you people are opposed to McKinney at UGA. As a parent, I want my child to be exposed to all points of view. If I’ve done my job as a parent, they will adhere to my values, but they deserve to hear all sides of an issue. Again, that’s what a good education is all about. I don’t agree with her politics either, but I want my child to hear all sides of an issue. You must not have much confidence in your kids if you think one journalism professor is going to make them a liberal. That’s just stupid. If you want your kids to receive a one-sided education, send them to Bob Jones University, Liberty University, or Oral Roberts University. UGA is a state institution and should reflect all views. There ARE liberals in GA, after all who want their side represented just like conservatives want their side represented. If our kids are going to compete nationally and internationally, then they must receive a well rounded education. I can’t imagine an intelligent person thinking anything less. Go Dawgs!!!
TossSweep
August 15th, 2011
11:41 am
Why scooters? Just get ‘em golf carts!!!!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 15th, 2011
11:41 am
I would think a UGA Insider would not need to ask for the email address of Dr. Adams.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 15th, 2011
11:43 am
Carrie agreed 100%
New Rule
August 15th, 2011
11:45 am
The football players are only allowed to ride a scooter wearing full football gear including helmet, knee and shoulder pads, and gloves. Problem solved…
Les W. Moore
August 15th, 2011
11:45 am
4-3 or 3-4 does it really matter? The base defense is irrelevant. Richt better be teaching tackling and blocking to all those 4 and 5 star high schoolers.
Paddy
August 15th, 2011
11:47 am
Patrick…..the Athletic Dept. can’t get them bicycles. It breaks NCAA rules big time. Good thought though!
Tobias Funke
August 15th, 2011
11:48 am
Ban these Scooters NOW! 260 lb man-children should not be riding these things.
Paddy
August 15th, 2011
11:48 am
Toss sweep…..same reason as above. It breaks NCAA rules to get athletes golf carts.
Joey
August 15th, 2011
11:48 am
As well as scooter fundamentals, Les . . .
Dubbayoo
August 15th, 2011
11:50 am
If you think a bicycle is much safer than a scooter I’ve got some news for you.
WOW!!!
August 15th, 2011
11:50 am
All it takes is a little common sense.
Just say NO
August 15th, 2011
11:52 am
The coach should make a rule that nobody rides scooters, period. If these guys can bench-press 800 lbs and run a 4 second 100 yard dash, I don’t think a little walk to class is going to hurt their tender little feet.
Smiling Jack
August 15th, 2011
11:57 am
You silly people who want to ban scooters and anything else because people are paralyized, killed or even hurt riding them. WOW!!! You must be one of those government provide safety and guanrantees of life and health, protectionists…for Heaven’s sake people…You might as well ban cars, buses, bicycles, running, walking, flying planes, riding trains, boats or you might just as well go ahead and die! Ban life! – - it happens folks! Each person is responsibile to live safely and not threaten the well being of others. The injured lad will hopefully be all right. If not, he will suffer the consequences of an accident, perhaps, not even of his own doing. Georgia Bulldawgs will play the season and hopefully win every game! God bless them! We’ll still be Georgia fans!
Bikes are safer than scooters
August 15th, 2011
11:57 am
On a bike you can’t hit 45 mph with twist of the throttle. Since it takes a lot more effort to get up to speed on a bike, a good bicycle will tend to pay more attention to what’s going on around them. I would doubt that these guys are the safest and most careful scooter riders..probably not wearing helmets. A 350 Lb guy on a bicycle is gonna hit maybe 20 mph on a bicycle while he’s gonna be going 50 on a scooter.
CreekDawg
August 15th, 2011
11:59 am
Timothy Road Baptist Church (where the Rev. attends) is a ways from campus and must be navigated on Timothy Road, which is a 4 lane highway and then onto 441 till you hit Milledge Ave. Get the Rev some decent wheels, or ban him from this church. Thats too dangerous of a journey for a 5-star bigtime recruit!!
LHarding Dawg
August 15th, 2011
12:00 pm
Come on people, it’s a scooter. Next thing you will want to ban atheltic shoes because someone tripped over his shoe lace.
As far as Tucker, she may be a liberal (which I can tolerate) but she is also a hater (which I can;t tolerate). She has no business at the UGA or any other university teaching young adults.
Jimmy Crack
August 15th, 2011
12:00 pm
Could we possibly hold off on all this “school” stuff until we start the frigging season?
John Galt
August 15th, 2011
12:01 pm
Sorry Carrie, Cynthia Tucker IS a left wing hack. I imagine that the left is already well represented in the Journalism school.
WDE
August 15th, 2011
12:03 pm
@carrie really there are many points of view on a college campus??..and then you noted “If you want your kids to receive a one-sided education, send them to Bob Jones University, Liberty University, or Oral Roberts University” carrie darling you could have just as easily said Harvard or Yale or NYU for one sided educations now couldn’t you have… McKinney is a cancer as she is as one sided as anyone in our country she makes David Dukes look like a centrist.
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
August 15th, 2011
12:03 pm
Those of you on campus know that I travel by scooter all the time. I have done so without incident. Scooter riding is a lot like anything else on campus. Ride smart and stay alive. Don’t drive drunk. Never carry multiple passengers. Don’t bring home your groceries on a scooter. If you get beat up in a bar blame it on your scooter. This will get you through the season.
WDE
August 15th, 2011
12:04 pm
@CreekDawg let me know how banning the Rev Drew from his church of choice works out for you…
Ga DOT
August 15th, 2011
12:06 pm
Two words ….. Training Wheels.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 15th, 2011
12:07 pm
Ban McKinney from the Journalism school…
Ban Drew from his church of choice…
Bama in Atlanta
August 15th, 2011
12:09 pm
S – Something
C – Created to
O – Offer
O – Optimal
T – Transportation but
E – Enhances
R – Roadrash
Tech '10
August 15th, 2011
12:12 pm
Ahh yes, Cynthia Tucker… what a clown, sorry fellas. Also, scooters are fine as long as you know how to ride them, might want to start with the basics, as a few have already pointed out.
Buck Swindle
August 15th, 2011
12:14 pm
Me and Kent Lawrence used to always ride the ol’ North-South back and to to class and we got along fine for four years.
— Buck Swindle
clickit
August 15th, 2011
12:16 pm
the dawg fanatics and the lunatic fringe neo-cons go hand in hand don’t they? you people are pathetic. any university in the country would kill to have tucker on their staff – go back to watching fox news and memorizing more right wing talking points..
" HOT " seat
August 15th, 2011
12:18 pm
`
. . . gotta beat boise state in the air conditioned GEORGIA dome . . .
.
mgdawg
August 15th, 2011
12:19 pm
Maybe UGA should do like peachtree city and get golf cart tracks for athens, surely they can’t get hurt in a golf cart.
Dawgy Style
August 15th, 2011
12:19 pm
Maybe a scooter IQ test?
PMC
August 15th, 2011
12:22 pm
Training Wheels are an excellent idea
ATL Sports Fan
August 15th, 2011
12:23 pm
What Chip and the AJC fail to mention is if there was a game this week, he would be able to play. Same with Samuel and Crowell. More gloom and doom from the AJC.
WDE
August 15th, 2011
12:23 pm
@clickit, please you heart then let some other college have her…perhaps somewhere with Bill Ayers on staff.
Tech '10
August 15th, 2011
12:24 pm
click-it, have you ever read one of her articles??? Jay Bookman (for the ajc) is very liberal and 1000 x’s better at preseting points that make sense. Sorry, she was not a good hire…
now back to football…
'94 UGA Alumni
August 15th, 2011
12:27 pm
It looks like we need to start using some of our practice time learning how to drive a scooter. Here’s a breakdown of our next practice:
8:00 – 8:30 Making a Turn
8:30 – 9:00 Signalling
9:00 – 9:15 Break (this is mentally exhausting for most of the players)
9:15 – 9:30 Keeping proper distance between scooter in front of you (most likely a fellow teammate)
9:30 – 10:00 Braking (and not waiting until the last second!!!)
10:00 – 10:30 Signalling (most players have forgotten how to signal by now)
10:30 – 11:00 Review (most players need to have everything repeated – several times)
Dawg Gone It
August 15th, 2011
12:33 pm
Was probably excited about lunch.
Eat and Tweet
August 15th, 2011
12:34 pm
Ok whats the real story here? Was Drew texting and operating a scooter at the same time? Inquiring minds wanna know the real truth….
Tdawg
August 15th, 2011
12:34 pm
Scooters are no more dangerous than bikes. I rode a bike to and around campus because it weas the fastest way to get from class to class. Parking was so far away and the buses were slow so weather permitting the bicycle was the way to go. I still ride and have had 2 pretty good wipeouts over the years that caused minor injuries like with Ray Drew who I am sure will be more careful and learn from this mistake like all young people learning to drive. He’ll be fine and let those scooters roll and the Big Dawg Eat. Part of college life.