Ice hockey player's inquest told of 'chaotic scene'
Paramedics who responded to the fatal neck injury suffered by ice hockey player Adam Johnson during a league match described a "chaotic scene", a coroner has said. Johnson was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against Sheffield Steelers in October 2023 when he was hit in the neck by the skate of opposing player Matt Petgrave. The 29-year-old American died in hospital following the incident during the Elite League fixture at Sheffield Arena.
Speaking at a pre-inquest review into his death, Sheffield's senior coroner Tanyka Rawden said the player's death "must have been horrific" for his family. During the hearing on Monday, Rawden said evidence from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service paramedics painted a picture of a "chaotic scene at the arena". She told the hearing she had "a lot of questions about how Yorkshire Ambulance Service accessed the ice".
She said there was evidence from one paramedic that they had to climb over the barriers "because nobody could show them on to the ice". Rawden said she also had questions about the availability of blood to the attending paramedics. Johnson's mother, Sue Johnson, and his fiancee Ryan Wolfe were among family members who joined the hearing on a video-link from the US.
Addressing the family, Rawden said: "I'm sorry that we are meeting in these circumstances. "I cannot imagine what life has been like for all of you since Adam died. It must have been horrific for all of you.
" Last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided it would not bring criminal charges against the Canadian ice hockey player Petgrave. On Monday, his barrister, Michael Hayton KC, told the hearing his client is currently in Canada. The coroner said she was currently planning to call Petgrave and nine other players from the match to give evidence, but added this was under review.