Cathedral City skateboarder hit by car, saved by 4ShayJ Foundation helmet
We hear it all the time — parents asking their children to wear a helmet while riding or skateboarding outside. One 13-year-old boy said he’s lucky he listened.
“I feel thankful because she actually was right,” Gabriel Ozuna who was hit by a car said.
Wednesday afternoon Ozuna was skateboarding with his friends home from a skate park in Cathedral City. When he skateboarded across the street, he was hit by a car and survived.
“When you get to see a traffic accident victim that suffered injuries like Gabriel did yesterday and be able to walk in here a day after it’s always good,” Cathedral City Deputy Police Chief Travis Walker said.
His helmet was given to him a year ago after teen Shaun Kelley Jr. died from a similar accident without wearing a helmet. His parents created a non-profit called 4ShayJ Foundation to keep other children safe by handing out helmets to anyone who needed one. The news of one of those helmets doing just that sent a wave of emotions for Kelley’s family.
“Ever since the police station called me this morning and told me what happened my wife and I both shared tears of joy and happiness. It brings back the memory of our son but the fact that what we’ve done and have been trying to do was able to help another child, it’s everything that we hoped for,” Shaun Kelley Sr. said.
The Cathedral City Police Department and the 4ShayJ Foundation came together to gift a surprise for Ozuna — a new helmet, skateboard and hopefully a speedy recovery. Ozuna said he will never take his safety for granted again.
“Be safe. Make sure to look both ways for a kid who passes by and to actually pay attention to the lights because some people don’t do that,” Ozuna said.
Watch: 4 Shay J Foundation hosted charity 5-man paintball tournament on March 20th, 2016
To learn more about the 4 Shay J Foundation, or how to obtain a free helmet, call (760) 989-0099, or contact them via Facebook.
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