Fundraiser in Cy-Fair to promote helmet safety

A Cy-Fair woman who nearly lost her daughter to a skateboarding accident last year will hold a benefit July 16 to help with her treatment and encourage kids to wear helmets.

Brenda Csatlos' daughter, Tara, now 16, suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident last June.

"Tara went down a hill on a skateboard at a golf course and hit a patch of sand and flew 10 yards in the air and didn't have a helmet on," Brenda Csatlos says. "It's the worst thing I've ever been through in 48 years."

Since then, Tara has been through inpatient and outpatient therapy, and missed a lot of school.

The barbecue fundraiser takes place Saturday, July 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at HEB, 24224 Northwest Freeway. Lunch costs $6 a plate, to help Tara's family pay her medical bills, but her mother wants the focus to be on helping other children and adults avoid the same fate.

Bike Barn has donated three helmets for a three raffle, and Brenda Csatlos says she'll match that donation with three more. She says Sun and Ski Sports and KRBE FM will also be donating raffle items.

Kim Navarro, a local paramedic who helps people with traumatic brain injuries in her spare time, is one of the people who helped organize the event. In fact, Navarro's boyfriend, a paramedic for Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, was among those called to the scene when Tara had her accident.

"It's not just for [Tara], it's to raise awareness," Navarro says.