You're Not Too Cool for a Helmet

You're not too cool for a helmet. A tragic accident in Hopatcong proved that this week.

Johnathan Delgado, 18, crashed helmetless off his skateboard on Unger Avenue's "Suicide Hill" Wednesday, leaving him in critical condition at Morristown Memorial Hospital. All of us at Patch are wishing Delgado and his family well in what we know has to be an impossibly difficult time.

Family members and police agreed last week a helmet would probably have saved Delgado from his injury. Sure, he might have needed a few Advil and a night on the sofa. But they think he wouldn't be where he is now—under a doctor-induced coma to stall his brain's swelling.

Ask anybody and they'll tell you a helmet is essential. But often they're all talk. They'll hop on their bikes, ride to the store and head back home helmetless, thinking it'll never happen to me.

Delgado's stepbrother, Alexander Caballero, said Delgado insisted on completing the challenge posed to him by his new friends–to make it all the way down "Suicide Hill" on a skateboard. Caballero was with him when it happened.

Those new friends told the stepbrothers no one had done it before. And how would Delgado have known if it was true? He only moved to Hopatcong in October. He didn't have many friends in the borough; he graduated from Passaic High School with the kids he'd known for years. He wanted to impress these guys, like any 18-year-old male would.

Heck, I've been there. I grew up on one of Hopatcong's hills near Jefferson Field, and I've been in my share of accidents, via bike and skateboard and Rollerblades.

I remember my father scraping me off the street once. Must have been about 12 years old. Rode my Wal-Mart special Huffy mountain bike up a friend's driveway. Let's just say I didn't make it back down on my wheels.

Yes, my friends laughed as my father and I ambled back up the block. Yes, my noggin felt like an egg shell right before an omelet. Yes, I left skin from my elbows and knees on the hot pavement.

Yes, I was wearing a funny black and purple helmet.

Yes, I stayed out of the emergency room.

So, a helmet helped me. But maybe you don't want to take my word for it. I'm just a reporter, anyway.

How about listening to the government, which knows a thing or two about, well, everything. This is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

"All bicyclists should wear properly fitted bicycle helmets every time they ride. A helmet is the single most effective way to prevent head injury resulting from a bicycle crash."

Those words extend beyond the bicycling realm. Whether you're skateboarding, riding on Rollerblades, hopping on a scooter—anything—you should wear a helmet, even though New Jersey law states only those 17 years old and younger must have them.

Why? Because what happened to Delgado could happen to anyone, of any age. I only hope Delgado has a full and speedy recovery—and can share that lesson with others on the streets of Hopatcong, instead of from a hospital bed.