What Happened
A 2019 Ford delivery truck struck an electric scooter on Lake Drive in Suffolk County on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, seriously injuring the scooter’s operator, according to a press release from the Suffolk County Police Department.
Roger Liburd, 47, of Hempstead, was driving the Ford truck southbound on Lake Drive when the vehicle struck Jennifer Keene, 49, of Medford, who was operating an electric scooter eastbound on the same road. The collision involved two vehicles traveling in perpendicular directions on Lake Drive, one southbound, one eastbound, pointing to a possible intersection or crossing-point conflict.
Keene was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries, the Suffolk County Police Department confirmed. Liburd was not injured. The press release did not state an exact time for the crash, and no additional passengers were reported in either vehicle.
Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating. Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to contact the Sixth Squad.
Location & Road Context
Lake Drive runs through a largely residential and mixed-use stretch of Suffolk County. The road’s configuration, with traffic traveling both southbound and eastbound, suggests a T-intersection or turn lane where the two directions converged at the point of impact. No traffic signal or stop-sign conditions at the specific point of conflict were addressed in the initial release.
Suffolk County has 788 recorded accidents in the Long Island Traffic local incident database, with multiple crashes logged on August 18 alone, including a moderate crash on NY 110 and two separate minor incidents on I-495. Electric scooter crashes remain a growing subset of that total as scooter use on public roads has expanded across Long Island.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
No charges had been filed against Liburd as of the Suffolk County Police Department’s initial release. The Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad is leading the investigation. Detectives are actively seeking witnesses or anyone with information relevant to the collision.
Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, electric scooters are classified as limited use motorcycles when operated on public roads, and operators are subject to traffic regulations including right-of-way rules at intersections. Whether Keene had the right of way on Lake Drive at the point of impact is part of what detectives are examining.
Broader Impact
Electric scooter crashes involving delivery vehicles have drawn increased scrutiny from Suffolk County traffic enforcement in 2026. Keene’s transport to Stony Brook University Hospital, the region’s only Level I trauma center, reflects the severity threshold her injuries met on arrival.
Updates
- Aug 19, 2026: Additional reporting merged into this article: “Medford woman, 49, suffers serious injuries in electric scooter crash” (source)