{"id":180898164,"date":"2010-09-25T17:29:24","date_gmt":"2010-09-25T17:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=180898164"},"modified":"2010-09-25T17:29:24","modified_gmt":"2010-09-25T17:29:24","slug":"mother-keeps-sons-memory-by-buying-bike-helmets-for-those-without-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=180898164","title":{"rendered":"Mother keeps son\u2019s memory by buying bike helmets for those without them"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Spradlin Cumberland Times-News
\n\u2014 CUMBERLAND \u2014 The tragic death of Bradley \u201cB-Rad\u201d\u2008Bridges in August at the YMCA skate park in Cumberland brought unabashed sympathy and support from friends, family and a virtual world of BMX.
\n\u201cDamn, that sucks. Rest in peace, man,\u201d one man wrote on a BMX website.
\nIn the vernacular of avid BMXers, that just about covers it.
\nLena Bridges, though, wants something positive to come from her son\u2019s untimely death. Since Brad, 18, was killed after sneaking into the skate park after hours with five others on the night of Aug. 6, Lena Bridges has been raising money to buy bike helmets for kids who don\u2019t have them.
\nThe next fundraiser is a car wash at CiCi\u2019s Pizza in LaVale from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday. The pizza place is participating in a spirit night from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, when proceeds from purchases will be donated to the effort. CiCi\u2019s Pizza also is the site of a second spirit night from noon to 8 p.m. Oct. 3.
\n\u201cWhen all the 200 kids came and lined their bikes up in front of the funeral home, I looked around, and only half of them had helmets,\u201d said Bridges, of Cumberland, noting Brad had not been wearing his helmet at the time of the accident. \u201cThat, then, was my focus. I don\u2019t want any other parent to have to feel the feeling that I\u2019m feeling, the loss.\u201d
\nBrad began riding a bicycle only in October 2009 after his 18th birthday. Until then, Bridges wouldn\u2019t let her son, who suffered from an enlarged spleen, participate in many activities that might result in a rupture of the spleen.
\nHowever, \u201cwhen he turned 18, he took up this hobby,\u201d\u2008Bridges said. \u201cHe was riding with the kids to act like he was … a normal person.\u201d
\nBridges said she and family members know quite well that her son was not permitted to be at the YMCA. But knowing that does not lessen the pain of his death. \u2008Nor does it need to be the focal point of how Brad is remembered, she said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not doing this because the kids were being bad,\u201d\u2008Bridges said. \u201cI\u2019m doing this because kids in the area need helmets, and my son wasn\u2019t wearing a helmet. They were just trying to have fun. I\u2008don\u2019t care where he was at or what he was doing.\u201d
\nBridges noted the YMCA park was not their first choice. They were in downtown Cumberland, she said, but they were \u201cchased off\u201d by police officers four different times that Friday night.
\nThe kids were just being kids, then, Bridges said, when they went to the skate park.
\n\u201cThey didn\u2019t break in, like break a lock,\u201d\u2008Bridges said. \u201cThey just went to ride a bike.\u201d
\nIn about a month of work, Bridges has raised nearly $1,300 and plans to soon order the first batch of 200 helmets. Each helmet costs $6.25, nearly $2 less than what the Allegany County Health Department charges.
\nBridges said the helmets will be distributed free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. The only requirements for recipients are that a child must complete a bike safety course and must be accompanied to that course by a parent. Bridges said she is working with an officer from the Cumberland Police Department to establish the program.
\nShe\u2019s hopeful the course and the advice of wearing a helmet, which is required for riders 16 and under in Maryland, will serve as friendly reminders to children and parents alike.
\n\u201cSomething could happen in the split of a second,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cIf a child remembers some lady \u2018told me I needed my helmet,\u2019 then I\u2019ve done something good.\u201d
\n
\nhttps:\/\/times-news.com\/local\/x124775265\/Mother-keeps-son-s-memory-by-buying-bike-helmets-for-those-without-them<\/a>oldId.20100925172924766<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kevin Spradlin Cumberland Times-News \u2014 CUMBERLAND \u2014 The tragic death of Bradley \u201cB-Rad\u201d\u2008Bridges in August at the YMCA skate park in Cumberland brought unabashed sympathy and support from friends, family and a virtual world of BMX. \u201cDamn, that sucks. Rest in peace, man,\u201d one man wrote on a BMX website. In the vernacular of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Mother keeps son\u2019s memory by buying bike helmets for those without them”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180898164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-in-maryland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180898164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180898164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180898164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180898164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180898164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180898164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}