Police Probe Crash Involving Skater

The highway accident in which the mother of figure skater Angela Nikodinov was killed early Wednesday was not the result of impaired driving, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau said Thursday.

He added that investigators had determined each passenger’s location in the vehicle and that none was wearing a seat belt. However, he said it was impossible to say whether that contributed to the death of 48-year-old Dolores Nikodinov of San Pedro.

“The detectives didn’t specifically tell me they can reach that conclusion,” Sgt. Brian Schmautz said.

Oregon law does not require passengers to wear seat belts in the kind of van that was transporting the family from Portland International Airport to the city for this week’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Dolores Nikodinov died of head trauma when the van carrying her, her husband, daughter and her daughter’s coach collided with a car, struck a highway barrier and overturned. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Angela, 24, and her father, Nick, were treated at a hospital and released Wednesday. Her coach, Igor Pashkevich, remained hospitalized in fair condition Thursday and was being treated for a concussion, a cut on his head and a fractured bone in his neck.

Neither driver was cited, and weather was not a contributing factor, police said.

Angela Nikodinov withdrew from the women’s competition, which began Thursday. A moment of silence was observed before the short program. Nikodinov and her father issued a statement, thanking doctors and emergency services workers and asking that any cards or letters be sent to U.S. Figure Skating headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. They also said an announcement would be made regarding funeral services.

“We’re very close to completing the investigation, and at this point, manslaughter and felony are not going to be issues,” Schmautz said. “It was two different people driving down a road, one merges into the other, which causes the van to hit a ... barrier and flip.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Who’s to blame?’ But there are times people make mistakes, and more and more, it’s looking like a mistake complicated by someone oversteering or overcorrecting at the wheel.”

Other skaters, including many from California who have known Nikodinov for years, offered their sympathy Thursday.

“I lost my mom to breast cancer [in 2001] and I know how hard it is. It makes me really want to skate well for her and her mom,” said Jenny Kirk, who trains in El Segundo.

Said Amber Corwin of Hermosa Beach, who has trained at the same rink with Nikodinov: “It’s hard to see someone you care about so much, suffering.... We all have a place for her in our hearts.”