By Alyssa Guzman and Stephen M. Lepore For Dailymail.Com 21:04 March 17, 2023, updated 21:36 March 17, 2023
- Sydney Benes, 22, was using the toilet at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie on Saturday as Carson Brière pushed her wheelchair down the stairs
- She said he and his friends “laughed at it” and said it was “hurtful and disrespectful and just kind of heartbreaking” to watch
- “People were like, ‘Oh, he’s acting like a kid.’ No kid would throw a wheelchair down a flight of stairs … because they have heart and morals,” she said
The disabled woman whose wheelchair was thrown down the stairs at the son of an NHL star has broken her silence and said the whole ordeal was “heartbreaking”.
Sydney Benes, 22, who lost her legs in a car accident in 2021, was using the downstairs restroom at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday when she discovered her wheelchair damaged at the bottom of the stairs.
She had gone downstairs to the bathroom with the help of a security guard and left her chair upstairs.
“All I kept thinking was, ‘God, I hope that was an accident, I really hope someone somehow accidentally pushed it down the stairs,'” she said in an episode airing Tonight is aired, to Inside Edition.
She later learned that Mercyhurst University student Carson Brière, son of NHL star Daniel Brière, was the person responsible.
“They laughed about it. It was really hurtful and disrespectful and kind of heartbreaking,” she told Inside Edition.
Sydney Benes, 22, who lost her legs in a car accident in 2021, was using the downstairs restroom at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday when she discovered her wheelchair damaged at the bottom of the stairs. “All I kept thinking was, ‘God I hope that was an accident, I really hope someone somehow accidentally pushed him down the stairs,'” she told Sydney (pictured), who disabled Woman whose wheelchair was destroyed after former NHL player’s son pushed it down stairs
“Carson was told to apologize to me and the apology was quite disingenuous,” she said.
“People said, ‘Oh, he’s acting like a kid.’ In my opinion, no kid would throw a wheelchair down a flight of stairs because they have a heart and morals.”
Bene’s legs were amputated two years ago after a car accident and now her vital wheelchair is badly damaged.
“The brake is bent, so it’s a little harder to lock,” she told Inside Edition. “The armrest is broken and we think the frame is bent.”
A GoFundMe was set up for her, which raised more than $8,000 before it closed. Benes told Inside Edition that she would use the money to replace or repair her chair. She would donate the remainder to other people with disabilities.
“I’d rather take that and turn it into a learning experience for everyone,” she told the outlet. “I’d rather make people aware of what people with disabilities go through. We just want a little help, a little understanding.”
This comes after she originally said she would turn down the $8,000 in cash.
“I swear I really don’t want to keep a dime of the money donated, I’d much rather give it to those who need it,” she wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.
In another tweet, she adds that Sullivan’s security guards “had Carson come over to apologize, but it was very disingenuous,” and claimed that after apologizing, he immediately asked, “Do I have to go ?“. after being asked to leave the bar.
She later said that Mercyhurst University student Carson Brière, son of NHL star Daniel Brière, was the one who pushed her wheelchair down the stairs. “They laughed about it. It was really hurtful and disrespectful and kind of heartbreaking,” she said
The response came after Brière, a junior on Pennsylvania’s Mercyhurst University ice hockey team, admitted in a statement to DailyMail.com that he has a “serious lack of judgment” after he was caught on camera doing the Chair pushed down a flight of stairs at Sullivan weekend.
His father is Daniel Brière, 45, a former NHL player who has scored over 300 goals in his long career. Brière, who was named interim general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers five days ago, called his son’s actions “inexcusable.”
Erie Police confirmed to DailyMail.com on Thursday that the investigation is ongoing.
Mercyhurst late Wednesday confirmed the suspension of the three athletes from athletic activity.
“Following an initial investigation into the incidents portrayed on social media, the Mercyhurst Athletics Department has determined that three people in this video are student athletes,” the statement said.
“We have provisionally suspended all three from their athletic teams, pending the outcome of the investigation, in accordance with school policy.”
The shocking video shows Brière in a white baseball cap spotting the wheelchair at the top of the stairs before sliding forward in it, getting up and pushing it down the steps.
Staff forced Brière to apologize, but Benes said it was disingenuous. “People were like, ‘Oh, he’s acting like a kid.’ In my opinion, no kid would throw a wheelchair down a flight of stairs because they have heart and morals,” said Brière, a junior on the Mercyhurst University ice hockey team in Pennsylvania, admitted to having a “serious lack of judgment” in a statement to DailyMail.com
Julia Zutkowski posted the shocking video on Tuesday, writing: “I don’t normally post anything serious on my twitter but something happened Saturday night and I can’t face the thought of this kid getting away with it. The video below features a student from @MercyhurstU who is currently on the @HurstMensHockey team. Carson Briere.’
She added: “The chair was left at the top of the stairs because she had to be physically carried downstairs to use the toilets. Which are only on the ground floor.’
In a statement to DailyMail.com about the flyers, Carson Brière said: “I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday. There is no excuse for my actions and I will do whatever it takes to make up for this serious lack of judgement.’
Father Daniel offered similar apologetic words in a statement of his own.
“I was shocked to see Carson’s actions in the video shared on social media yesterday,” he said in a statement. “They are inexcusable and totally run counter to our family’s values of treating people with respect. Carson is deeply sorry and takes full responsibility for his behavior.’
Hours after her apology, the university released a statement both praying for Sydney and reminding people to try and allow those who made mistakes to correct them.
“Mercyhurst University has heard considerable outcry over student Carson Brière’s social media video showing him pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a flight of stairs.”
‘Mister. Brière today issued a statement accepting responsibility for his actions, recognizing that his behavior reflects a “serious lack of judgement” and that he is “deeply sorry”.
“The actions shown in the video make our hearts heavy and do not correspond to our Mercy belief in the inherent dignity of every human being. We pray for the victims and stand in solidarity with them and all people with disabilities who rightly find actions like this deeply offensive.”
“Our Mercy tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make bad decisions deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviors and atone for harmful actions.”
This isn’t the first time Brière has faced disciplinary issues on campus.
In 2019, Brière and another player were “released” from the Arizona State University program “for violating team rules,” according to Walter Cronkite Sports Network.
Brière — who has received invitations to the Flyers youth development camp in the past — had never played for the youth program, having gone through the NCAA process of “redshirting,” where college athletes often don’t play for an entire season in order to extend their eligibility.
Carson’s father is Daniel Briere, 45, a former NHL player pictured here in a 2011 game against the New York Rangers
He spent the remainder of the school year playing junior hockey in Canada before transferring to Mercyhurst.
Brière transferred from a large public state school in Arizona to Mercyhurst, a small program at the 2,700-enrollment private Catholic college in Erie, Pennsylvania.
A 2021 College Hockey News interview, which headlined him being given a “second chance,” elaborated on the reasons for Brière’s firing.
“I was just about to go out; I didn’t take hockey seriously. It wasn’t anything bad, it just wasn’t committed to hockey, I was more anxious to have fun at school,” he said. “Too much partying, that’s the best way to put it.”
He claimed to have learned a lesson from his experience at Arizona State that he applied to his new school.
“It made me realize that once you get to that level it’s a job, right? It’s not just something to do for fun,” he said. “Obviously you have to have fun doing it, I think that keeps people going, but also knowing when to do something and when not to.”
“It just generally matures. I honestly think it was a great lesson for me, helped me become a more well-rounded hockey player and look at life and everything from a different perspective.