Road Cycling - Thank God For Helmets, A Real Scare!

I got a real scare less than an hour ago. My wife heard a loud crash which she thought was something that fell in our basement. I looked around and didn't see anything so then went on my deck to see if anything out back fell. In the darkness I see something lying next to my deck post a story below me. As my eyes got accustomed to the dark I realized it was a young boy, a neighbor, laying unconcuios in my yard. He went racing through my yard as a shortcut in the wet grass and crashed head on into a post holding up my deck. I ran for his parents, my wife dialed 911. He must have been out a good 10 minutes byt the time I saw him there. Lucky for him I guess was his BMX helemt strapped firmly on his head. The little fellow did come too with some coaxing from his parents and sems to be no worse for wear at this point.
I would hate to think what would have happened if he had no helmet.
Oddly it was almost a year now since my 77yo mom died after striking her head in a simple fall in a parking lot. argue what you want about helmets but mine will be on again tomorrow! ( I may also start building a fence to keep the kids out of the yard <g>). My heart is still racing from this!
Be safe,
Tony

Very good to know. On the topic, maybe a helmet-saving stories thread would be useful even for those times you think that you're just heading to a friend's house 1km away and don't need a helmet.

I'd be very careful about what happened, smells like a lawsuit brewing. Even if it wasn't your fault you neighbor may try to sue you.

Sue? The family should be lucky the boy is still alive, the family itself had nothing to do with the boys own ignorant decision to ride his BMX bike in the grass and thus hitting his head on the post, what so the boy's family is going to sue because the post was there, I don't think so, the family should be gracious enough that they at least called 911 and tried helping the boy. Sueing these days gets very out of hand, and I for one hate it. Example: A man was attempting to rob a house when he fell through the class skylight and fell onto a kitchen counter where there was a knive sticking up, oddly enough the robber won the battle. Another Example: A woman looking for furniture in a store accidently tripped over a reckless child running around the store, she sued the store and won! Ignortant part of the story, the child she tripped over........was her own son! Yes, off the subject but I thought I would mention what people will do for money these days.

Sadly to say the was the second thought that went through my mind....lawsuit.

My first was that the child was dead, at first in the darkness I could not really se e what was down there after many minutes shock set in as I realized it was the crumpled form of a child, motionless the entire time.

The parents seemed grateful for our actions and even apoligized to my wife for their scaring her half to death. Lets hope tomorrow dawns on the same note.

I notice on the court in front of our house only about half the kids were helmets when riding, both of the neighbors boys always do. I actually thought we had a law here in Maryland about 16yo and younger wearing helmets when they ride.

Tony

I'd go out and shoot some pictures of the yard, area, especially where the kid hit, etc. I'd also sit down and write out exactly what happened in detail on a second by second train of thought type thing. Your memory will alter events as time gets on and it will be better to have notes.

Sounds like a dick move but better to have pictures if the lawyers do come around.


PJ

Now lets hear from all of those who say,no need for a helmet,the pro's dont use them and they cause more problems then they help. Come on,you know you want to speak up even if thats BS.

You could call me a helmet advocate.. These are the results of my recent crash. As you can see, the helmet probably saved my life. I was unconcious for 5-10 minutes, and have multiple spinal fractures, but at least I'm still me.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/55/55627/folders/162598/1184090helmet1.JPG

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/55/55627/folders/162598/1184091helmet2.JPG

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/55/55627/folders/162598/1184094helmet3.JPG

As you can see, I hit directly on the right front. The foam is broken all the way through at what looks like a small crack.

Very good to know. On the topic, maybe a helmet-saving stories thread would be useful even for those times you think that you're just heading to a friend's house 1km away and don't need a helmet.

Hey, Powers That Be, what do you think of a sticky thread in Safety and Advocacy with these stories? Wearing a helmet is the most important thing we can do to keep ourselves safe (next to, possibly, following the rules). But some idiots still go helmetless.

My helmet saved me from my own stupidity about ten years ago. I was careening through a parking lot at dawn or dusk without a light. I didn’t see the cable stretched across the lot. BAM!!! I was flat on my back. My helmeted head slammed hard against the pavement. I might be dead if not for my cheap-o, no-name helmet.

I’m also lucky that the cable hit me in the chest and that I was wearing several layers of sweatshirts. A little lower or higher and I would have been seriously hurt. I was creaky for a couple days, but otherwise fine, with several painful lessons learned.

Good quick thinking on your part Tony. I hope everything works out for you and the neighbour.

Kind regards
Adrian

Dear Tony: Thanks for sharing the story. My kids always wear their helments. I also make them wear pad when the skate and skate board. They roll their eyes back, but
so far have done it. I get nervous whenever I see kids at the school doing stunts with no helmets on, then I see the parents riding and they have no helmets either!

About the threat of the law suit. Anyone can sue anybody for anything, you did the right thing, but I agree with a previous post to document everything now while it's still fresh. Two or three months down the road it may be harder to remember the sequence of event.

See yah, out on the roads. My helmet's green and I'm the slow guy who grunted hello when you passed.
a.c.

Holicow:
Last April I did a similar unplanned crash test on a brand new Giro Pneumo. Only difference was I also had short term amnesia and a concussion in addition to the cracked helmet. Had a communated multiple fracture of my right clavicle and a bad "road rash" on my back too. Needless to say, sans helmet I'd either be dead or incapable of composing this email. "Helmet advocate" is a mild description for my frame of mind when I see cyclists or motorcyclists without them.

Larry

You could call me a helmet advocate.. These are the results of my recent crash. As you can see, the helmet probably saved my life.

That looks very similar to my last helmet after a spectacular header while mountain biking.
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0001.JPGhttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0002.JPG
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0004.JPGhttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0005.JPG
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0006.JPGhttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/helmet/PICT0010.JPG

And that helmet was used to replace this helmet after an equally spectacular crash...

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/images/cycling/cracked_bike_helmet.jpg

I crash a lot and go through a helmet every 18 months or so. Each crash has been bad enough to have caused severe head trauma but the helmet did its job and protected my head.

Holicow:
Last April I did a similar unplanned crash test on a brand new Giro Pneumo. Only difference was I also had short term amnesia and a concussion in addition to the cracked helmet. ....

Yeah, me too....I don't remember a thing about it,and for a little while prior to the crash. Just nothing there.

Broke my neck (and back) in several places, but that will heal. No significant neuro damage. And that's still better than a lobotomy, or worse.

Thanks for the replies as well as the concern over the potential of being sued. So far everything looks good. The boys parents came over last night just to thank me again for my quick action in calling 911 and running to get them. They still feel bad their son scared the hell out of my wife and I. They were good friends before all this so I didn't really expect any trouble but you never know. Of course the way things go now days I may have concern in 10 more years when their son does not due well on his SAT scores and the blow to his head from the bike incident is blamed for the poor performance <g>.
Best,
Tony