A bill requiring those under 18 years of age to wear a helmet while operating an ATV is likely heading to the Governor’s desk.
The Senate passed House Bill 1200 Thursday 37-12. The House will still have to vote on whether they concur with the small amendment made in a Senate committee before it goes to the governor.
The bill, known as the “Play for Kate” bill, has been pushed for by the mother of Kate Bruggenschmidt, a Warrick County girl who died in a ATV crash in 2015 at age 11. Since then, Ashlee Bruggenschmidt has pushed for helmet safety education.
The bill author, Rep. Lloyd Arnold, R-Leavenworth, consistently pushed the bill as a way to educate, not punish people.
"For me, (the bill) just really makes a lot of sense, not only for the safety of the young kids who are not old enough to make those decisions, but to also increase awareness," Arnold said. "We had the highest (number of) fatalities on ATVs in 2016 in the state of Indiana in that we ever had -- we had 21. That's really what I was looking at, a way that we can really educate and protect these young kids on all-terrain vehicles."
Last week, another local teenager, Kaleb S. Poehlein, 14, also died while riding an ATV. The Pike County boy died after his vehicle went airborne, struck a tree and landed upside down. He was not wearing a helmet.
These are isolated events. Indiana had its deadliest ATV accident year to date, with 21 fatalities in 2016, Arnold said.
"If the helmet law or (ATV) education saves one kid or prevents one family from going through what we've went through, then it's worth it," Ashlee Bruggenschmidt said.