Injury to Artery Caused Girl’s Death

The 13-year-old girl hit by a puck at an NHL game died from a rare injury to an artery that was damaged when her head snapped back, a coroner said Wednesday.

Brittanie Cecil died Monday, two days after she was struck in the forehead by the puck at a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames.

The damage to the artery, which runs from the spine to the back of the brain, led to a “vicious cycle” of clotting in the artery and swelling of the brain, said Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis, who performed the autopsy. He said the artery also might have been slightly torn and her skull was fractured.

Lewis said a fellow pathologist had not encountered a similar injury and death in more than 25 years as a doctor.

The eighth-grader was sitting about 15 rows above the ice and behind the goal when the puck, six ounces of hard, frozen rubber, came flying into the stands after Columbus center Espen Knutsen’s slap shot. The puck, which can travel over 100 mph on slap shots, appeared to be deflected and hit two other fans near Cecil.

“I think about it all the time,” Knutsen told the St. Paul Pioneer Press after a morning workout before the Columbus Blue Jackets’ game against Minnesota. “I think about her family because I have family myself. It was just a horrible accident.”

The Wild held a moment of silence in Cecil’s memory before the game.

The Blue Jackets will place Cecil’s initials on their helmets and the franchise also will promote a fund set up in her memory.