Moore Helmets For Schools Raise Concerns

A group of volunteers called "Moore Helmets for Schools" delivered over 3,000 helmets to students last month, and that was just stage one. As the group continues, so do the concerns from one Moore mom.

"Is it a step? Absolutely it's a step. It's better than nothing," Moore mom, Danni Legg, said.

It is a step that, with each stride, continues to tear at Legg.

"It doesn't just hurt my heart, but it tears at my soul that they are not fixing the problem rather than just putting a band-aid on the problem," Legg said.

"We'd rather have the band-aid than no band-aid, and until something happens to improve the situation, it's better than nothing," Dr. Bob Letton is a pediatric trauma surgeon at OU Children's Hospital, and he supports the mission of Moore Helmets for Schools and its effort to provide over 22,000 helmets.

"At least every kid I've seen die in the emergency department after a tornado is secondary to a head injury," Dr. Letton said.

That problem glared Oklahomans directly in the eye almost one year ago. Legg lost her son inside Plaza Towers Elementary that day in May and to her, there's only one kind of prevention.

"Shelters are the ultimate solution," Legg said.

Volunteers passing out the helmets agree.

But Legg can't stop thinking about what a helmet wouldn't have done for her son.

"He would have felt the minutes he was dying because his head was protected, but his body was being crushed," Legg said.

So Legg continues to advocate for shelters.

"My issue is this talk cannot go away. It went away in 1999. It cannot happen [again]," Legg said.

The organizer for Moore Helmets tells News 9 they realize a helmet will not prevent all injuries in a tornado, but it could prevent head trauma. Moore Public Schools is not involved with buying the helmets, only the recipient.

Over 9,000 more helmets will be handed out on Saturday.