Velodrome underpass takes its toll
Jasper Simmons, 8, received 29 staples in his skull after crashing into the concrete wall of the velodrome tunnel. Photo: Anne Hardie.
The combination of a steep incline, sharp corner and concrete in the velodrome underpass led to a brain bleed for eight-year-old Jasper Simmons after he lost control of his bike and crashed into the wall.
It was a horrifying experience for his parents, Ben Simmons and Tessa North, who want warning signs and padding on the concrete corners to prevent further accidents happening.
The concrete wall bears the black mark from Jasper’s helmeted head hitting it back in December and it is just one of numerous marks from others crashing into it when young children on bikes gather speed going down the path and do not have the skills to turn the sharp corner.
Ben says it happens fast and the numerous parents who use the facility often have more than one child to look after.
Jasper’s crash happened when he saw an older boy ride down the path and he followed before Ben, who was with his five-year-old daughter, could stop him.
“Then I heard this gut-wrenching scream. When I got there, he was under his bike with blood pouring down his face.”
Initially at Nelson Hospital, it looked like Jasper just needed stitches for the gash on his forehead.
Then at 3am he vomited and a CT scan showed he had a fractured skull and bleeding into his brain.
A traumatic eight hours followed as Jasper was put on a helicopter to Wellington Hospital with his mother and Ben headed to the airport to get on the next plane.
“It was hell really; just terrifying. It was eight hours after the scan before the neurosurgeon came out of surgery and said Jasper was going to be fine.
“Until then we didn’t know if he was going to come out of it fully functional.”
Jasper had a window cut into his skull to find the bleed and cauterize it, then 29 staples to put it back together.
Ben describes the neurosurgeon as a hero who was putting in long days to save lives.
Now Jasper still has a couple of months to go until he is able to get back on his bike and Ben says they will continue going to the velodrome which he says is a wonderful facility for families.
But he wants to see signs, padding and also a tin mirror to reflect bike riders coming through the underpass into the path of others.
After Jasper’s crash in December, Ben contacted the Tasman District Council about safety improvements.
Council spokesperson Tim O’Connell says reserves staff, along with the health and safety officers from both Nelson and Tasman councils, carried out an inspection on site and discussed how to implement measures to control the way people negotiate the underpass.
Markings will be added including ‘keep left’ and ‘walk your bike’. Another possible option is rumble strips on the ramp path.
Ben had hoped some measures would put in place immediately to stop more kids hurtling into the concrete wall and getting seriously hurt.
“[Kids] don’t have to be going fast to lose control and then when you’re out of control, there’s no limit to how fast you can get and you’re basically going front on into the concrete wall.
“If you have a parent with two kids, you can’t be on top of them at the same time and it’s a facility where kids are learning to ride their bikes.”
Even while waiting for the ambulance to arrive on the day of Jasper’s crash into the concrete wall, bypassers told Ben of two other accidents that had previously occurred in the underpass.
He says the concrete also shows the multiple crashes that have occurred.
“You can see the scratch marks from helmets on the wall when kids crash into it.”