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Zaiden Cochran is thankful he got his helmet when he did.
Despite injuries to his back, a swollen left eye, and scrapes on his knees and arms, Zaiden is also feeling lucky even to be alive.
He picked it out Thursday after his younger brother got a new bike.
Little did he know when he was out riding Sunday that the helmet would make the difference between life and death.
As he rounded a corner, he and his bike came face-to-face with a car.
"I was gonna say 'Zaiden.' And then when I was like 'Z-,' he was already in the air. And I was like, 'Is that his bike?' And then he dropped and I was like 'Oh my God! Please help him!'" said younger brother Madden.
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"It felt like a dream, but I realized it wasn't cause I couldn't wake up," recalls Zaiden.
After the crash, 8-year-old Madden rushed back home to tell their mother what happened.
Zaiden suffered a cracked vertebrae, making it painful to get up and walk around. But he's expected to make a full recovery.
"I felt that it saved me," says Zaiden.
Now, he and his brother hope to share this valuable safety lesson with other kids.
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And they'll be wearing helmets every time they ride.
"Wear a helmet because it's very safe," says Zaiden.
Investigators say the 21-year-old driver who hit Zaiden was cooperating with police.
He was released from the scene and not cited.
Police don't believe speed was a factor.
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