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THIS CORRECTS THAT KIVLENIEKS DIED OF CHEST TRAUMA FROM AN ERRANT FIREWORKS MORTAR BLAST AND NOT A SUBSEQUENT FALL AS AUTHORITIES PREVIOUSLY REPORTED - FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks (80) is shown during the second period of an NHL hockey game in New York, in this Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, file photo. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Latvian Hockey Federation said Monday, July 5, 2021, that 24-year-old goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has died. A medical examiner in Michigan says an autopsy has determined that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast, and not a fall as authorities previously reported. Police in Novi, Michigan, said the mortar-style firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night, July 4.
REVEALED: Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, died after being struck in the chest by firework while sitting in hot tub at home of coach who was hosting daughter s Hawaiian-themed wedding
Michigan police say that 24-year-old Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died after a fireworks accident in a Detroit suburb on Sunday
Kivlenieks was at the home of Blue Jacket goaltending coach Manny Legace, whose daughter Sabrina was getting married on July 4
Police said a mortar-style firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people during the celebration on Sunday in Novi, Michigan. A police spokesman said alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the mishap
The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning stand on the ice during a moment of silence for Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks prior to Game Four of the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bell Centre on July 05, 2021 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Andre Ringuette/Getty Images Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast in what authorities described Monday as a tragic accident on the Fourth of July. Police in Novi, Michigan, said the firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night. The 24-year-old Kivlenieks was in a hot tub and tried to get clear with several other people, police Lt. Jason Meier said. Authorities earlier said the Lativan had died of an apparent head injury during a fall, but an autopsy clarified the cause of death.
Blue Jackets goalie dies after fireworks accident >THIS CORRECTS THAT KIVLENIEKS DIED OF CHEST TRAUMA FROM AN ERRANT FIREWORKS MORTAR BLAST AND NOT A SUBSEQUENT FALL AS AUTHORITIES PREVIOUSLY REPORTED - FILE - Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks (80) is shown during the second period of an NHL hockey game in New York, in this Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, file photo. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Latvian Hockey Federation said Monday, July 5, 2021, that 24-year-old goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has died. A medical examiner in Michigan says an autopsy has determined that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast, and not a fall as authorities previously reported. Police in Novi, Michigan, said the mortar-style firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night, July 4. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) Kathy Willens
Associated Press
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died of chest trauma from an errant fireworks mortar blast in what authorities described Monday as a tragic accident on the Fourth of July.
Police in the Detroit suburb of Novi said the firework tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby Sunday night. The 24-year-old Kivlenieks was in a hot tub and tried to get clear with several other people, police Lt. Jason Meier said. Authorities earlier said the Lativan had died of an apparent head injury during a fall, but an autopsy clarified the cause of death.
The fire department and EMTs got to the private home shortly after 10 p.m. and took Kivlenieks to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Meier said. The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s office reported preliminary autopsy results Monday afternoon.