CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local family is turning grief into action by placing more than 20 white helmets around Corpus Christi as part of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.
After losing their son Austin Gonzalez in a motorcycle crash in January of 2023, his family launched the Ghost Helmet Project. The white helmets mark locations where motorcyclists lost their lives throughout Nueces County.
"A lot of them have been forgotten and they feel they've been forgotten. So for us it's not only bringing the safety awareness but also the memorization of the family members they lost," said Joe Gonzalez, Austin's father.
One helmet was placed at Ocean Drive and Rossiter Street, where Austin took his final ride.
"It's a two-fold project to remind car drivers of motorcycles and to remind motorcyclists of the consequences of a motorcycle accident. There's far too many accidents in Corpus," said Gonzalez.
In March of this year, KRIS6 News reported on the increase in motorcycle accidents in Nueces County since 2022. One of those accidents involved Rosa and Roman Perez, who died after their motorcycle was hit by analleged drunk driver at Airline near SPID.
"So we've had a lot of people express their gratitude for what we're doing and we're thankful for that. You know anything we can help to help people heal through and get through the process," said Gonzalez.
The Gonzalez family says most of the helmets are donated by other riders, and their son's foundation is helping other families who've also lost loved ones heal.
"We don't really ask for money, we made the shirts, we sell the shirts, but everything from what we made from the shirts go back into the motorcycle community for funerals, for hospital bills, just kind of helping people when they need help," said Danielle Gonzalez, Austin Gonzalez's sister.
The Gonzalez family plans to collect all the helmets at the end of May and repeat the awareness campaign next year.
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