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N.W.T. mom urges ATV riders to wear helmets after daughter fractures skull

A mother in Behchoko, N.W.T., is urging people to wear helmets on all-terrain vehicles, after her eight-year-old daughter fractured her skull from "ear to ear" in an accident.

In July, Angela Zoe's daughter Britanya was walking home from a swim at the community's Dehk'e Bridge when a friend offered her a ride on the back of his quad.

Britanya didn't have a helmet, but she took the ride anyway.

Her mother says the driver took a corner too fast and Britanya flew off the ATV and landed right on her head.

Zoe knew the injury was serious when her daughter got home.

"I was like 'oh my goodness, that's a huge bump,'" Zoe says.

"I know from looking at her, observing her, her reaction, it wasn't good. Something is happening inside her head that we can't see."

Yellowknife's Stanton Territorial Hospital sent Britanya to the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton.

Zoe says Britanya had fractured her skull "from ear to ear on the back of her head."

Advocating for change

At the beginning of her recovery, Britanya struggled to venture far from her hospital bed, having to lay down after just 15 minutes outside. She did, however, have most of her memory, save for the accident itself, and her family saw improvement every day.

Britanya has since returned home to Behchoko, where she started school this week.

Though she still feels tired and nauseous at times, Britanya's family hopes she can make a full recovery.

Now, both mother and daughter are advocating for further awareness and education about wearing helmets on ATVs.

The territorial government requires all riders to wear a helmet while driving on roads, but it doesn't require them to be worn on at all times, or off-road.

Zoe says that isn't good enough.

"Anything can happen. A wrong turn, a wrong move. That's all it takes for an accident to happen," she says.

Britanya still has a long road to recovery, but Zoe says they feel very fortunate.

"We are very lucky."