The Ghost Helmet Project was started as a way to honor Austin Gonzalez and others who have died in motorcycle wrecks across the city.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — You might have seen them around town, white motorcycle helmets placed atop roadside crosses.
Each one marks a symbol of where tragedy struck where motorcyclists lost their lives.
As Motorcycle Awareness Month comes to a close, one local family is not only asking drivers to ‘look twice’ they’re also asking for help to find what’s missing.
Turns out one of the motorcycle helmets has disappeared, possibly taken from its site.
Austin Gonzalez lost his life in a motorcycle crash back in January of 2023.
The Gonzalez family started the Ghost Helmet Project as a way to honor him and others who have died in motorcycle wrecks but just days before they were set to pick up the helmets, Austin’s helmet has gone missing and its not the only one.
The white helmets, stark and haunting.
On the corner of Ocean Drive and Rossiter, is where 27 year old Austin Gonzalez’s life also came to a tragic end two years ago.
“He never met a stranger and he welcomed everyone into his life,” said Joe Gonzalez.
Austin’s father Joe and sister Danielle created Austin’s Watch for Motorcycles Foundation starting the Ghost Helmet Project to raise awareness about motorcycle safety and help other families remember their loved ones. Thirty white helmets were placed at crash sites this month, many donated by riders or shops, some marked with names.
“We like that we are doing a good thing, take something positive out of something so negative,” said Danielle.
But now, the helmet placed at Austin’s own memorial is gone.
“Unfortunately Austin’s I thought was going to be in a place where it wouldn’t get bothered with, but 2 days before the month ending, his helmet was taken,” said Joe.
The family knew some helmets might disappear but this one hits harder.
“It’s personalized it means a lot to us, it’s a symbolism of what happened here, and I really hope to get it back. I reached out to the city, don’t know if it was an individual or a landscaper or who may have taken it, hopefully we get it back,” said Joe Gonzalez.
Austin’s helmet isn’t the only one that has disappeared.
“Two taken off Ocean Drive, pretty much overnight, the next day they were gone,” said Danielle.
The family showed one helmet that was recently recovered after it was tossed into Corpus Christi Bay.
Still, the family hopes the message behind the helmets isn’t lost.
Raymond Guerrero was one of Austin’s childhood friends. He showed off his tattoo he got in honor of Austin.
“People around town – they see the helmets and they record them and they send them to me. People I haven’t talked to in years,” said Guerrero.
The Gonzalez family said the response overall has been overwhelming and they’re already collecting helmets for next year but they’re still holding out hope that Austin’s, the one that started it all, finds its way back home.
“It’s personalized, it means a lot to us, it’s symbolism of what happened here, and I really hope to get it back.”
The city does not require permits and that they do not remove roadside memorials.
The Gonzalez family is asking anyone who may have picked up Austin’s helmet or knows where it is to reach out or bring it back.
