Grieving family giving out helmets

The family of skateboarder John Barker, a Little Rock native who died in 2017 after a brain injury suffered in a skateboarding fall, has developed an initiative with Arkansas Children’s Hospital to distribute helmets to skateboarders at no cost, officials have announced.

Skateboarders can access information on the helmets by visiting https://johnbarkerlovesyou.com.

Barker, 20, fell off a skateboard on March 30, 2017, in San Francisco. Two days later, he died from the injuries. He was a graduate of Little Rock Central High School and had received a scholarship to attend the University of San Francisco.

The Barker family decided to help prevent future injuries and deaths from skateboarding and help reduce risks associated with skateboarding injuries by establishing a helmet and education fund in his memory through the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Injury Prevention Center.