After seeing his sister Rachel nearly die a short time before graduating from Temple University when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while on her bike, David Hill started a company to develop a better bicycle helmet, writes Brian Hickey for PhillyVoice.
His goal was to design a helmet that would better protect bicyclists involved in similar accidents. He started a company called Park & Diamond, after the North Park Avenue and Diamond Street intersection where his sister nearly died. He cofounded it with Jordan Klein, a fellow mechanical engineering major at Virginia Tech.
The pair ran a wildly successful IndieGogo crowdfunding campaign that surpassed its goal by more than 1,000 percent. The new helmet is easier to store than existing helmets, and does not crack when it hits a hard surface.
Hill said that the idea came after his sister’s criminal justice professor Joe Alkus helped him realize how to turn around a negative, life-altering experience.
“He told us to take all the energy and try to do something positive with it,” said Hill.
The helmet was released for preorders earlier this week.
Read more about the innovative bicycle helmet from PhillyVoice by clicking here
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