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Elkhorn woman teaches kids about bike safety

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Photo by Cat Szalkowski-Patneau

Even after an accident in 2007 when Terri Dellamaria was hit by a driver while road bicycling, she hasn't been able to give up her love of biking. Dellamaria now bikes trails rather than streets, still logging about 50 miles per week, and promotes bicycle safety among children.

ELKHORN — When the Elkhorn Police Department’s Bike Safety and Family Fun Day kicks off next month, Terri Dellamaria will be front and center for the five-mile trek.

The 44-year-old mother of two seems an obvious choice to lead the ride, given her personal investment in the issue of bicycle safety.

Just three years ago, Dellamaria was meeting friends on the corner of highways A and H for a usual 25-mile ride. It was a bright July morning, and she was just days away from her 42nd birthday.

Unfortunately, the ride proved anything but usual.

Dellamaria doesn’t remember much about the accident or how she got to the hospital. Reports say she was thrown 62 feet into a field off Highway H, and then flown to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa.

She remained in the hospital’s trauma center, unconscious, for eight days.

“It was a beautiful day like today,” the substitute teacher said, recalling the day of the accident. “There was sunshine, no obstacles and no reasons why I would have been hit, other than he was not looking up.”

The driver who hit Dellamaria was a 17-year-old distracted by an iPod just seconds before striking her. Because the driver had no insurance and because his parents had filed for bankruptcy, he never paid a penny to contribute to Dellamaria’s medical expenses.

“This accident cost my family many things, including lots and lots of money,” she said. “Luckily, I am in a position that it didn’t change my life of my children’s lives. But it’s not something that everybody should have to go through.”

Dellamaria was released from the hospital on her birthday. Her presents that year were rods and screws to hold her leg together and a year’s worth of rehabilitation exercises to get her life back to normal.

Still, she doesn’t linger on the accident. She recalls the community support she received after the traumatic experience and focuses on what to do looking forward.

When she was hit, Dellamaria wondered what the reason behind the accident was.

“There has got to be a reason,” she said. “I was doing everything right.”

Then she had an epiphany.

“I could teach people that the helmet saved my life,” she added.

And so she has.

Dellamaria has spoken to more than 1,000 elementary school children about the importance of bike safety. Shortly after being hurt, she accompanied the Elkhorn Police Department to lectures about the importance of biking with safety gear.

“The kids were so responsive with me being a substitute teacher,” she said. “After the presentations, they would come up and hug me and say, ‘Mrs. Dellamaria, we’re so glad you’re OK.’”

Elkhorn Police Department Lt. Jon Anzalone recalls the first time he went out to talk to children with Dellamaria.

“She gave a talk at our bike ride,” he said. “She brought her bike, she brought her helmet. She gave everybody a short talk on the importance of wearing a helmet, the right clothing, knowing the roadways that you are on. And she was great.”

“She is an amazing person,” he added. “To be able to do that after something that traumatic is just incredible.”

On June 12, Dellamaria will once again bike with Elkhorn children and their families. She will hand out helmets and remind children how important it is to wear them.

“If I could have a positive impact on one kid, and I actually handed out a helmet to one kid who didn’t have one, I would be happy,” she said.