Mother starts ATV helmet drive for First Nations in honour of daughter
CBC
An Anishinaabe mother is starting a helmet safety campaign and hopes to gather helmets to give to First Nations in Manitoba, after her daughter died in an ATV accident in September.
Marilyn Courchene, from Sagkeeng First Nation, 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, said she wants to try and get at least 1,000 helmets in honour of her daughter, "to make sure that the kids have proper safety equipment."
On Sept. 1, Courchene's daughter Katie Pchajek died after she crashed the four-wheeler ATV she was driving in Sagkeeng.
"My daughter left here without her helmet and went on the quad and then avoided a dog, and that's how she died," said Courchene.
Pchajek was a mother of three and Courchene describes her as someone who loved to cook, and was a community-minded helper with a bubbly personality.
"She always looked for the positive in life. She was always helpful," said Courchene.
"If there were other people that lost family members, she'd always help [by making] a pot of soup."