New Shoreham Officials Concerned With Uptick In Moped Crashes

NEW SHOREHAM, RI – One day after a Cranston man was killed when the moped he was operating collided head-on with another vehicle, the New Shoreham Town Council held an emergency meeting to discuss ongoing issues with moped safety and an uptick in accidents on Block Island.

Corey Sanville, 22, was killed on Saturday when he and passenger on his moped were involved in a head-on collision with a sport utility vehicle, the Rhode Island State Police reported. The accident occurred at 2:20 p.m. Saturday on Block Island and was the second fatal accident involving a moped on the island in less than a week, police said.

The 22-year-old passenger on the moped was flown to Rhode Island Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the state police reported. Both occupants of the moped were wearing helmets at the time of the crash in which the driver of the SUV was not injured.

No charges of the accident are expected to be filed, police said, but the accident remains under investigation by the state police and New Shoreham police.

During Sunday’s emergency meeting, Block Island Fire Chief Kirk Littlefield reported that there have been 45 moped crashes involving 52 patients since June 1. In comparison, there were 34 moped crashes on the island between Memorial Day and Labor Day last year and 46 during the same time period in 2018, Littlefield reported, according to reports. Five of those accidents involved double-occupant mopeds.

Sunday’s meeting went into closed session for 2 ½ hours, according to NBC 10, and involved the discussion of the town council’s options in dealing with moped accidents, some of which are legal. The meeting is set to continue virtually Monday evening.

“I don’t see anything changing unless we take some real serious action here,” Councilor Martha Ball said during the meeting.

Of the 52 patients involved in this year’s moped crashes, two people have been killed and six were required to be airlifted from the scene, according to Dr. Thomas Warcup of the Block Island Medical Center.

“The difficult thing for us is that the season is not over,” Warcup said during Sunday’s meeting.

Sanville’s stepmother, Nichole Sanville, told NBC 10 that the victim’s family is devastated following Saturday’s accident. She said that something needs to be done about the procedures that companies use to rent mopeds “to everyone and anyone.”

“He was an amazing son, brother, uncle, cousin, co-worker and friend,” Nichole Sanville told the television station.

“We are gutted at the loss of our child and want to do everything in our power to elect change as far as how rentals are allowed. No one else should lose their child in such a senseless accident."