Girl killed by puck at Blue Jackets game!

[cASe SenSiTive]

http://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com/aolns_display.adp?key=200203191234000137979_aolns. src

[ken_valyi]

:(

[Cane Says]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A 13-year-old girl died after being hit in the head by a puck that was shot over the glass and caromed off another fan at an NHL game.
Brittanie Cecil died Monday night, two days after she was hurt at the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, Children's Hospital said.
It was believed to be the first death of a fan hit by a puck at an NHL game.
``Our fans mean the world to us,'' said Doug MacLean, Blue Jackets general manager. ``This loss has profound effect on the entire Blue Jackets family.''
The shot by Espen Knutsen of Columbus flew over the high glass at the west end of the rink, glanced off another spectator and struck the girl in the head, witnesses said. After being hit, the girl was seen standing with a jacket being held to her head.
NHL spokesman Frank Brown said Tuesday he could not recall any other fan killed by a puck.
He said one NHL player died from injuries in a game. Bill Masterton died Jan. 15, 1968, days after falling.
Although rare, spectators have been killed and seriously injured at hockey games, particularly in the low minor leagues and the amateur ranks where the glass is not as high around the rink.
A 21-year-old Canadian man died on March 5, 2000, after being struck by a shot that flew into the crowd during a South East Manitoba Hockey League game between Altona and Carman a week earlier.
A 9-year-old girl died in 1979 after being hit in the forehead during another Canadian game.
In 1984, a 10-year-old boy in Spokane, Wash., was killed when hit with a puck while watching an exhibition game between the Spokane Eagles and Spokane Chiefs.

[Cane Says]

You know, I took my girlfriend to her first NHL game last week and she asked me about the pucks flying over the glass. I told her i had seen someone hurt, but this just saddens me

[FLII ME]

This is just sad news, my prayers go out to the young girl and her family. I wonder if the parents will file a law suit? But at least I hope that the NHL recognizes now that there is a need for nets above the glass!!

[P.J Stock]

Man I had seats one time right behind the net, right above the glass, and I did not feel safe at all.

Ive seen people taken to the hospital bloody, and Im kind of surprised this is the first incident of this kind in the NHL.

Very sad.:(

[Cane Says]

Davin Olsen, the general manager of the ESA, said there aren't any further measures the Canes could take.
"There's really nothing you can do different," Olsen said. "It's a tragedy. You can't explain it. You can build the glass 20 feet high and something like this can still happen.
"It's just a freak accident. That's why you take all the precautions to make sure the people in the stands understand the risks."

[Darth Xed]

Originally posted by Cane Says
Davin Olsen, the general manager of the ESA, said there aren't any further measures the Canes could take.
"There's really nothing you can do different," Olsen said. "It's a tragedy. You can't explain it. You can build the glass 20 feet high and something like this can still happen.
"It's just a freak accident. That's why you take all the precautions to make sure the people in the stands understand the risks."
I was thinking about it too... really, next to putting a net or something up around the whle playing area, which would totall kill the view, what could they do, really?


A horrible, horrible tragedy though :( Poor little girl. :( :(

[Cane Says]

i think you are absolutely right Dart, i don't think there is anything the NHL can do. The try to cover themselves by cautioning against flying pucks, and i know the Canes even hae a puck catchers club for those who catch wayward pucks.

This is just a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to her family.:( :( :( :( :(

[Cane Says]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A 13-year-old girl who died two days after she was struck by an errant hockey puck at a Columbus Blue Jackets game suffered a whiplash injury that tore a small artery on the back of her head and spine.
The tear caused Brittanie Cecil to suffer cardiac arrest Monday morning, theFranklin County Coroner Bradley J. Lewis said. She died at 5:15 p.m. that afternoon.
Video of the incident showed that the puck flew over the high glass at the west end of the rink, glanced off another spectator and hit Cecil on the head.
According to the coroner's report, the puck fractured Cecil's skull. It also whipped her head back, causing a whiplash injury. The injury tore a small artery on the back of her head and spine and Lewis said that the tear went undetected.
Cecil was taken to Children's Hospital and stayed there for two days because she suffered a seizure in the hospital's emergency room when she was receiving stitches, the Lewis said.
A clot formed that kept blood away from her brain, the report stated. On Monday morning, Cecil suffered cardiac arrest.
Later that afternoon she was declared dead.