University of Delaware bike crash leads to lawsuit

• The family of Matthew Rosin is suing UD over an October bike crash that injured him on campus.
• Rosin, a pedestrian, was struck by a cyclist and knocked unconscious.
• Their lawyer says UD was negligent because there isn't a policy banning bikes on pedestrian paths.

The family of a University of Delaware student who is unconscious nearly four months after being struck by a bicyclist is suing the school for failing to create rules to keep bicycles off busy campus sidewalks.

The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court this month, claims the university was negligent by not protecting Matthew Rosin and other students attending an outdoor campus event near the Trabant University Center on Oct. 23.

Rosin, a junior double-majoring in psychology and marketing, was struck by a bicyclist at the event and knocked unconscious when he fell backwards, hitting his head.

"It is bad enough that the university doesn't have any policies (prohibiting bikes on pedestrian paths) on any given day, but on the day of this special event, they at least should have barricaded off the area so bikes don't go barreling through," Rosin's attorney Timothy E. Lengkeek said.

UD spokeswoman Andrea Boyle Tippett would not comment on the suit's claims, and the university has not yet responded in court documents.

Since the October crash, Rosin has undergone multiple surgeries, including having portions of his skull removed to alleviate brain swelling and pressure. He initially was hospitalized at Christiana Hospital, but was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where he remains unconscious, the suit said.

The university community has rallied around Rosin and his family by holding a vigil with nearly 200 students for his 19th birthday just after the crash and raising $25,000 through a GoFundMe page.

The lawsuit does name as a defendant the student bicyclist, Cory Morris, but much of the suit focuses on the university's alleged negligence.

The suit said that the university has not established rules against bicycles on sidewalks, even though the city of Newark has prohibited bicycles on certain sidewalks and the university launched a safety campaign called "Walk Safe Bike Safe."

The suit also points out that although the October crash was the most serious, it was not the first between a pedestrian and bicyclist. One student was injured just three weeks earlier, the suit said.

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Rosin's family is demanding damages, including for pain and suffering, mental anguish, the cost of the lawsuit, interest and any other award the court determines.

Lengkeek said the family is "obviously looking to recover funds to cover the extraordinary amount of medical treatment Matthew has had and will need," but the suit is also meant to change the university's policies.

"Just as important, Matthew's family is hoping that the university will enact rules about where and when bicyclists can ride so this does not happen to any other students," he said.

Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at (302)324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.