Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks died in a freak fireworks accident on the Michigan residence of the group’s goaltending coach — on the identical day as his daughter’s marriage ceremony, in line with experiences.
Kivlenieks, 24, was in a sizzling tub on the residence of Manny Legace in Novi when a mortar-style firework tilted barely and struck him within the chest Sunday because it fired towards a bunch of individuals.
The marriage of Legace’s daughter, Sabrina, to actual property agent Nick Howell, was held on the residence earlier within the day, the Day by day Mail reported.
An ensuing “night time of leisure and uninhibited revelry” was held on the residence, with visitors clad in Hawaiian-style gown, in line with the report, which cited the couple’s marriage ceremony web site.
Police Lt. Jason Meier stated Kivlenieks tried to keep away from the fireworks blast whereas within the sizzling tub with a number of different individuals. Authorities earlier stated the Latvian died of an obvious head harm, however preliminary post-mortem outcomes launched Monday afternoon clarified his reason for dying of chest trauma.
“For the time being, we’re fairly sure this was a tragic accident,” Meier stated.
There’s no indication the one who lit the shell-and-mortar-style fireworks had been consuming alcohol, Meier advised the Detroit Information.
Legace declined to remark when reached early Monday, the Detroit Information reported. The president of a neighborhood house owner affiliation, Kendall Pleasure, confirmed to the newspaper that the incident occurred at Legace’s residence. The goaltending coach and former NHL netminder joined the group in 2018, in line with his group bio.
Kivlenieks’ teammate and fellow Latvian native, Elvis Merzlikins, posted a photograph of the pair on Instagram in Hawaiian shirts, thanking Kivleniek for being such an “superb particular person” and sharing particulars of their ultimate moments collectively.
“I actually love you, I’ll miss you, we had our final basketball sport within the pool and we loved earlier than you left me proper after,” Merzlikins wrote. “We love you and fly excessive child, fly excessive! You saved your final puck! You’ll be our guardian angel.”
Police stated Kivlenieks was roughly 10 toes away from the mortar when he was struck, the Day by day Mail reported. He died from a percussive harm attributable to the blast, inflicting main harm to his coronary heart and lungs.
Firefighters and paramedics responded to Legace’s residence at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday. Kivlenieks advised one teammate to not get into the ambulance with him, in line with the Day by day Mail.
“[Kivlenieks] didn’t need him to should see that,” the late goalie’s agent, Jay Grossman, advised the outlet.
Kivlenieks, a local of Riga, Lativa, who signed with the Blue Jackets in 2017, was later pronounced useless at a hospital.
A second of silence was held for Kivlenieks previous to Sport 4 of the Stanley Cup Monday between Tampa Bay and Montreal. The Canadiens gained Sport 4, however path the Lightning 3-1 within the sequence. Tampa Bay’s coach, Jon Cooper, addressed Kivleniek’s household after his group’s time beyond regulation loss.
“It’s an terrible tragedy for anyone, any household to undergo that,” Cooper advised reporters. “However any individual within the NHL household, as shut as all of us are because the groups even battling on the market, from all of the Lightning, our condolences.”
With Submit wires
