Leesa Dooley Wimberley
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
In October 1966, my brother was involved in an accident between his motorcycle and an automobile at the corner of Monroe Street and Highway 50 in Jefferson City.
David was returning from his military base in Illinois in order to store his motorcycle before being deployed to Vietnam. His friend, Paul, was following David in Paul's car so they could return to the base before they left for their next assignment.
As they approached the intersection headed east, the light was green all ways. There were numerous witnesses from each direction to that fact including a bus load of students at the northwest corner of the intersection on Monroe Street. The car David hit was headed north on Monroe Street. Neither my brother or the couple in the car saw the failure of the light to be red for the other vehicle. Fortunately, my brother recuperated well from his injuries although he never remembered any details but was told by numerous witnesses what they observed. Both David and the car were driving about 30 mph at the time of the impact.
My brother went on to serve honorably in Vietnam. He returned to the U.S. after his tour of duty. He met his future wife, finished his enlistment with the U.S. Army, married and they raised their daughter. He retired from his employment at (then) Chesebrough Ponds. He traveled around America and around the world, making friends wherever he went. He lived a good and productive life. None of that would have been possible if he had not been wearing a safety-approved helmet at the time of the incident. The helmet was tested to survive a high impact and yet it had a large crack along the surface. And yes, David kept that helmet and it is still in the family. We are eternally grateful that he was wearing the helmet that day because all of our lives would have been forever changed had he not.
Food for thought.