A leading brain-injury-support organisation today warned about the need for helmets after the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl in a cycling crash.
The Peter Bradley Foundation said there was widespread complacency about the need for protective headgear in everyday activity like cycling, working and sports.
Barbara O’Connell, the organisation’s chief executive officer, urged caution after the inquest this week into the death of Mary Connors in Cork last September.
“Over 400 children on bikes were injured on Irish roads between 1998 and 2005; this is a very high casualty rate and reinforces the need for parents to insist that their children wear a helmet when cycling”, she said.
Mary Connors from Carbury, Co Kildare died when she lost control of a bicycle on a hill and hit a stone wall.
The inquest into her death heard that she was not wearing a helmet and that she died accidentally from head injuries after falling from her bike at high speed.
PA