INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — As lifelong IU fans, the McNichols family wouldn't have missed seeing their Hoosiers play in this year's Gator Bowl. Many were there to see it in person. What pains Becky McNichols is knowing her son Scott couldn't be.
"Had Scott not been injured, I'm certain he would've been there," she said.
Next month will mark 17 years since the moment that would forever change their lives.
"He was snowboarding," said McNichols, remembering the day she got the phone call. "He had struck a tree."
Scott had traveled west to California, chasing adventure in the great outdoors. But one afternoon while snowboarding, he struck a tree at about 30 miles per hour. He suffered traumatic brain injury and would never walk or talk again.
"Had he had a helmet on, we probably wouldn't be in as bad a shape as we are at this point," McNichols said.
At this point, nearly two decades later, Scott is confined to a wheelchair and lives in a nursing home in Franklin.
McNichols and other family members visit often. He also enjoys day trips to Grey Brothers Cafeteria and his nephews's ball games.
He can communicate with his hands. Thumbs up means 'yes.' A straight finger means 'no.'
It has left McNichols wondering what might have been.
"I wonder who would he have married? What would my grandchildren look like?" McNichols said. "It's very hard. it makes me cry a lot. I try to compartmentalize, it's the only way I can operate because a mom's heart is broken."
Broken but determined.
Anguish into action
Scott wasn't wearing a helmet when he was injured. McNichols has made it her mission to keep others from suffering the same.
"We've got to get helmets on kids to prevent brain trauma," she said.
McNichols launched a legislative push to require helmet use among children in Indiana.
With Scott next to her, she once again told her story to a committee of state lawmakers in January.
"We're not talking about snowboards here," she said from a hearing room podium. "But it's because of Scott's injury that we learned about helmets and the importance of helmets."
As an Indiana resident, McNichols said it makes the most sense to require helmets for children on bicycles and scooters here.
According to the Stanford School of Medicine, about 100 children are killed and 254,000 are hurt in bicycle-related accidents.
The National Institute for Highway Safety reported the use of a helmet can cut the odds of a head injury in half. Yet a national survey showed 46 percent of bicyclists say they don't wear one.
In 2019, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended all 50 states make it a law to wear a helmet.
"It's an easy fix," McNichols said.
House Bill 1174
So she began working with State Representative Randy Frye, a Republican from Greensburg, to create House Bill 1174. If passed, it would have required anyone under the age of 18 in Indiana to wear a helmet on a bike or scooter on public property. Penalties could have included a fine.
There are about 20 states that currently have a law requiring some helmet use of some kind for children.
Frye, a retired firefighter, said he's seen what happens when children are injured on their bike without a helmet.
"The devastation to the individual, to their family, to them financially, and even to the state, is substantial," he said. "And we want to prevent that."
Frye said anyone who cannot afford a helmet would have access to a free one through their local fire department. The helmets would be funded through corporate sponsorships and other private donations. Donors McNichols has been working to find.
Supporters are also working with the Indiana Township Association for funding.
"We are supporting townships being involved in getting helmets to children who can otherwise not afford one. The details of that are still being discussed with the author and committee members," said Deborah Driskell, Executive Director of the Indiana Township Association in an email to Eyewitness News.
Is a law necessary?
Should helmet use be required by law?
Some biking advocates say 'no.'
"Bicycle Indiana supports and encourages helmet use," said Bicycle Indiana Executive Director Nancy Tibbett. "We oppose mandatory legislation because of the potential unintended consequences."
She cited studies that show mandatory helmet laws reduce ridership.
"We already have an obesity crisis. Some people adults and children use bicycles as a mode of transportation," Tibbett said. "If we make it a law that they have to wear a helmet, and they don’t, then they quit riding their bicycle."
She and other critics also voiced concerns about reports that police in other parts of the country have used helmet laws to target low-income and minority populations.
Tibbett said she'd rather see more outreach programs to encourage people to use a helmet. Not legally require it.
"Can we reach the same goal without making it a law?" Tibbet said.
Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess said the law would not be about writing tickets.
"We're just trying to educate both the kids and the parents to do what's right and they're not going to have these issues, or sitting in an ER with a head injury that's going to affect this child for the rest of their life," Sheriff Burgess said.
A similar legislative attempt didn't gain much traction in 2019.
What happens next
Since WTHR started looking into this issue, there has been a compromise on House Bill 1174.
The bill has dropped the requirement and possible fine and instead focuses on using state money for public safety outreach programs aimed at youth helmet safety.
On Monday, the House approved the modified bill 92-1 and sent it to the Indiana Senate.
McNichols said the compromised bill is at least a step in the right direction and remains hopeful she'll one day get a helmet requirement law passed in Indiana.
"How long will you keep fighting for this?" asked a reporter. "Forever," McNichols said. "I don't want any other moms to go through this."