CINCINNATI — Life for Terri Bray and her family has changed dramatically over the past few weeks.
Bray's father, Lee Ballard, was riding his motorcycle near downtown Cincinnati on Aug. 23.
"He overcorrected his bike, and he hit a guardrail," Bray said.
Ballard, who had been a rider for 20 years, wasn't wearing a helmet.
He was put on life support, but later died at the hospital just a few days after the accident.
"There wasn't ever a chance of him walking up; it was just a matter of when we'd pull the plug," Bray said.
Hear how Bray is now pushing for state laws around helmet requirements to change in the video below:
Bray said her father abided by the law when he rode his bike. If a state required him to wear a helmet, she said, it would be on his head.
However, in Ohio, only certain bikers are required to wear a helmet. That includes riders under the age of 18 and bikers within their first year of riding. Other than that, there are no requirements.
"I don't want this to happen to anyone else," Bray said.
We looked at data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on motorcycle crashes in Ohio. In 2023, data showed that 61% of motorcyclists killed in crashes weren't wearing a helmet.
Bray said numbers like that should be enough for state lawmakers to make a change.
"I'd rather you be upset with the law than witness what I did," Bray said.
She's now pushing for a new law, Lee's law, which would require all riders to wear a helmet and hand out severe consequences to those who don't. She even started a petition for people to sign.
"Because your head is, it's where you keep your memories of your family, it's everything," Bray said. "The fact that people don't want to protect that is selfish."
Bray said she understands that many bikers like to ride freely and won't like her proposal.
But, she said what happened to her dad is something that no family should have to go through.
"If you're not an advocate now, your family will be for you later," said Bray.
