Teddy Balkind fell during a match and another player collided with him, slicing his neck
The death of a teenage hockey player who died after his neck was slit open by a skate while he was on the ice has been ruled an accident, according to reports.
Teddy Balkind, a tenth grader at St Luke’s School in New Canaan, fell on the ice on January 7, and another player who was near him who was unable to stop in time, collided with him.
According to a report by
NBC News, the death has now been ruled as accidental.
The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has found that Teddy died of an incised wound of the neck, it reported, and the cut, from the skate of another "ice skater after falling on ice during game" was an accident.
Teddy was playing Brunswick School when he was injured in a match his father was watching.
"Our community is mourning. On Thursday, we lost a precious young man in a tragic accident," a statement from St. Luke's Head of School Mark Davis said last week.
It continued: "Both St. Luke’s School and Brunswick School are in shock as we work to support our students and families."
"St. Luke’s singular focus at this moment is to care for our devastated community," Davis said. The school was closed Friday and opened late with a "special schedule" on Monday.
The game was immediately stopped after the accident and Teddy was treated by Brunswick medical staff before being rushed to Greenwich Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Mark Zuccerella, Captain of the Greenwich Police Department, said "tragically" teddy did not survive an operation to save his life.
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Students at St Luke’s School, along with their families, gathered Friday evening to pay their respects to Teddy.
“It’s horrible. It’s really bad,” an 18-year-old student named Calvin said, according to a report in
The Sun.
“I feel like it’s just like an outreach of, I don’t know, sympathy.”
Brunswick School said in a statement: “Tragedies such as this are hard to process and impossible to understand. We will do all we can in the coming days and weeks to help and support those in our community and in the St. Luke’s community.”
Stars from the ice hockey world paid tribute to Teddy in the aftermath of the accident.
"The hockey world is hurting over the tragic loss of Teddy Balkind yesterday," tweeted Kevin Shattenkirk, a member of the US Olympic team and current Anaheim Ducks defenseman.
https://twitter.com/shattdeuces/status/1479624792063938564
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the young players from St. Luke's and Brunswick and especially the Balkind family. Rest In Peace Teddy #SticksOutForTeddy."
Anaheim Ducks player Adam Henrique tweeted: "Sad to hear about the tragic loss of Teddy Balkind. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Balkind family. #sticksoutforteddy."
