The disabled woman whose wheelchair was pushed down the stairs by a college hockey player has spoken out about the incident.
On March 11, 22-year-old Sydney Benes was using the bathroom downstairs at Sullivan's Irish Pub in Erie, Pennsylvania, when she discovered her wheelchair at the bottom of the stairs damaged.
As reported by Daily Mail, she is a double amputee who lost her legs in a 2021 car accident and often depended on the help of the bar's security manager, Nate Sanders, to carry her downstairs when she needs to use the restroom.
On one particular night, Benes was left in shock after she returned with Sanders and discovered her broken chair at the bottom of the staircase. It had apparent damage to the brake, the armrest, and the frame.
Watch the incident below:Initially, Benes thought that her wheelchair was broken due to an "accident," telling Inside Edition: "All that kept going through my mind was: 'God I hope this was an accident, I really hope somebody just accidentally bumped it down the stairs somehow.'"
But what actually happened was far worse, as security cam footage of the incident was shared on Twitter by bar manager Julia - who goes by the handle @juliazukowsk - and it displays Mercyhurst University student Carson Briere pushing Benes's wheelchair down the stairs.
In the upsetting clip, the 23-year-old son of former NHL player Daniel Briere and his male companion, 21-year-old lacrosse player Patrick Carrozzi, were seen sitting in the chair and tampering with its devices.
They then physically shoved it down the stairs - while intensely watching the fall-out - and then casually strolled into the bar as if nothing happened.
After seeing the footage, Sullivan's security guard identified the men and forced them to apologize to Benes - which she described as "insincere" to the publication - before they were escorted out and banned from coming back.
Julia's tweet went viral on the social media platform and led to the suspension of both athletes from their sports teams. The university also put out a statement stating that Briere's actions fell short of the school's "belief in the inherent dignity of each person".
The student also apologized in a statement that read: "I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday. There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment," as cited by Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page was created by the bar staff to help the young woman fix her chair - which she bought for $2,000 two years ago - and as of the time of writing, $8,811 has been raised.
Benes revealed that she originally wanted to remain anonymous, but once she saw the outpouring of love and support she got from online users, she decided to come forward.
"Hi I'm Sydney and it was my chair that was pushed down the stairs," she wrote alongside a photo of herself and Sanders at the top of the stairs. "I’m so thankful for all of Sullivan’s help in this situation and the kind comments I see on Julia’s post."
At first, she didn't want to "keep a cent of the donated money" but later disclosed that she will use some for her wheelchair, and then the rest will go to other members of the disabled community.
According to Yahoo, Briere and Carrozzi were allegedly hit with three misdemeanor charges - criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief, and disorderly conduct - by police due to the incident.
The outlet stated that they are scheduled to appear in court on May 22.
