Poland North learns importance of bike safety

Photo

Neighbors | Submitted .Karter Kellgren, 7, displays his cracked bicycle helmet. The helmet saved his life when Karter fell off of his bike and hit his head on Mar. 11.

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

As the days grow warmer and longer, kids can again be seen rolling their eyes at frequent reminders to put on their bike helmets.

But as 7-year-old Karter Kellgren learned firsthand, wearing a bike helmet can save your life.

On March 11, one of the first sunny days this year, Karter, a first-grade student at Poland North Elementary School, was outside riding his bike with his friends when he took a spill.

His friends ran to tell his mother, Melissa Kellgren, who took her son home to clean up his scrapes.

Karter seemed fine at first — bruised but still walking and talking, Melissa said. But then he started to repeat sentences, and it appeared he had suffered short-term memory loss.

“I didn’t know what had happened,” Melissa said. “He had said he hit his head, but he wasn’t bleeding anywhere.”

One look at Karter’s battered helmet showed that he had fallen on his head, she said.

The Kellgrens took their son to the emergency room at Akron Children’s Hospital where Karter soon regained his memory. A CAT scan showed no serious injuries.

Doctors said the bike helmet saved Karter’s life.

“They said he was very, very lucky because that crack [in the helmet] could have been his head,” Melissa said. “All he walked away from it with were scrapes on his knee and scrapes on his elbow.”

Karter brought his helmet to school the next day to share his story with his classmates.

At the morning assembly, Michael Masucci, the principal of Poland North Elementary, spoke to students about the importance of wearing a helmet.

“I had everyone look at Karter and we talked about how everything can change in a moment,” Masucci said. “We talked about how, by not wearing a helmet, you are putting yourself at risk and you can really hurt your family.”