A 10-year-old girl suffered head trauma when she was involved in a bicycle crash in Hoquiam Tuesday afternoon, said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers. She was not wearing a helmet, added Myers.

The crash was a little after 3 p.m. at the corner of Chenault and Adams streets. The child was taken by ambulance to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

“In talking with the other children in the area, the girl was riding down the hill on Chenault when she tried to turn onto Adams Street, but apparently was going too fast,” said Myers. “The bike hit the curb which vaulted the child into the nearby fence.”

Myers said the girl’s babysitter indicated she had told to the children to wear a helmet, “but as officers are seeing all too often on the summer streets this year, children are leaving them at home.”

“It has been less than two weeks since our bike rodeo at Central Elementary where our bike patrol officers taught students bike safety and emphasized the importance of wearing a bike helmet,” said Myers. “This is the second major child-bike collision where neither child was wearing a bike helmet. We are very thankful both children will be okay.”

Families in Hoquiam who cannot afford a bike helmet can contact Hoquiam Crime Watch volunteers to get a free, fitted bike helmet for their child.

“However, as we talk to kids on the street, more often than not they have a helmet, just choose not to use it,” said Myers, who added that in Hoquiam bike helmets are required for all persons under the age of 18. “It is the law and it makes sense. This is a parental responsibility ordinance and requires parents to make sure their children have a helmet and use it.”

Officers will be contacting children without helmets and sending them home with a flier for their parents about the law and bike helmets.

“We want bike riding to be a safe and positive experience; our officers don’t like having to stop and talk to kids for this reason, so please do the right thing — wear a helmet! You just may save your own noggin!” said Myers.