Schools

8-Year-Old Boy's Letter Sparks Bike Safety Day at Concord

Hunter Long knows that he and Hunter Himes, injured in a late February accident, share more than a name: They also share strength.

Eight-year-old Hunter Long has never met the boy he calls “Big Hunter.”

Big Hunter is Hunter Himes, the 14-year-old Lakeview Junior High student who was seriously injured in February when a car struck him while he was riding his bike.

Hunter Long, however, says they share more in common than just a name.

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“All the Hunters in the world would be broken if one of the Hunters were hurt,” Hunter said. “They really want to do something for him because they feel really bad for him.”

With the help of his mom, Ginny Long, Hunter came up with the idea of Hope for Hunter Day at Concord Elementary School.

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“We feel this little mission: Let’s be Hunter’s heroes,” Long said.

On May 22, Officer Nick Skweres will spend the day in Concord’s gym classes, making sure the kids’ bike helmets fit while giving them summer safety lessons.

The Longs will also sell Hunter’s Hope wristbands for $2 each, with all the proceeds going to benefit the Himes family. At the end of the day, there will be a raffle featuring a helmet and several water bottles donated by Arts Cycling & Fitness.

“It truly blew me away when (Hunter) started talking about it, to have an 8-year-old say, ‘We should do something,’” Long said.

Hunter didn’t realize it at the time, but Himes’ accident had a deeply personal impact on Long, too.

When Long's brother was 14—the same age as Himes—he was struck by a car while riding his bike. He recovered from devastating injuries and today is a radiologist with a family of his own.

“We keep hoping if we could get lucky, maybe they could, too,” Long said.

After more than two months at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Himes was recently transferred to a local rehabilitative hospital to continue his recovery.

Father Gavin Quinn took Hunter’s letter to Himes’ family, who hung it above his hospital bed at Christ Medical Center, Long said. When Hunter handed Quinn the letter, Quinn gave him something in return: the red, rubber Hunter’s Hope bracelet from his own wrist. Hunter hasn’t taken it off since.

Concord Principal Laura Anderson said she was very moved to see one of her students translate the school's lessons about social responsibility into a real-world situation. 

"I was thrilled and so proud of Hunter for not only feeling his compassion, but also acting upon it," she said. The day will be a great chance for Concord's students to learn about safety, she said, and also to practice compassion for another child.

The teachers at Concord embraced Hunter’s mission, using his letter as the genesis for lessons about bike safety. 

"Hunter Long has such a kind heart," his teacher, Lauren Lipine, said. "It is not surprising that he wrote this very sincere letter. I was very impressed that he took the initiative to extend such kind words to a boy he had never met."

Hunter's letter inspired Lipine to have each of her second-grade students write their own letters to Himes, which she bound in a book.

“It makes me really happy,” Hunter said of his classmates’ letters, “because they all have Hunter Hope.”

The following is the text of Hunter Long’s letter, exactly as he wrote it:

dear Hunter Himes

this is Hunter Long. I am 8 years old. I have a bike but I Have never got hit by a car. I feel bad for you alot. I did not no that you broak your arm, and got so hurt. I know Hunters are brave and strong. I Pray for you every day and I have HUNTER HOPE! I also hope we can meet some day. Please get better soon. Sincerly Hunter Long


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