Healthier Evansville - Making Healthy Choices
By: Jackie Monroe
Updated: May 2, 2007
For several weeks, we have devoted our family first series to the "Healthier Evansville" initiative. The last element of the campaign is "Making Healthy Choices."
In this family first... The real risk of not wearing a helmet.
One sunny day last summer, Skip Oliver biked home from a Northside gym. Its a bike ride he remembers almost nothing about. Thats because somebody driving on old state road hit him from behind and sped away, leaving him to die in the road.
Skip woke up hours later in the hospital. He suffered a broken collar bone, a broken back, and a brain bleed that covered 2/3rds of his brain.
Skip had a brand new bike helmet. The bike shop gave it to him when he bought his bike. Skip just never took it out of the box.
To this day, Skip still doesnt know who hit him. And he doesnt know who stopped to help him either. Hes just glad that person did, because they saved his life.
Now Skip speaks to school and health organizations about helmet safety. He says, they cost so little and can save so much in the event of an accident. Hes not sure why helmet use isnt law.
