The 24-year-old Columbus Blue Jacket goalkeeper Mattis Kieflenix died on July 4 in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, from a wrong fireworks mortar explosion and chest trauma.
According to the police department, as the fireworks flew in their direction, Kivlenix and others quickly tried to get out of the hot tub at a private party. Kivlenieks fell and hit his head.
Early media reports said that Kivlenicos was likely to have died in a Obvious head injury.
The Oakland County Forensic Medical Office reported the preliminary autopsy results.
The fire department and paramedics arrived home at around 10:15 pm. Kivlenieks was pronounced dead after being taken to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi.
Tim Wood, an investigator at the Oakland, Michigan company, said the autopsy had confirmed #CBJ Goalkeeper Matisse Kivreniks was an accident.
However, the cause of death of Kivlenieks listed in the autopsy was “fireworks mortar explosion and chest trauma” rather than the initially suspected head injury.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) July 5, 2021
“It appears that a fireworks malfunction caused a group of people to escape from the hot tub, including the dead, who slipped and hit the concrete,” Lieutenant Jason Meyer of the new police station Tell ESPN on Monday.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Kivlenieks joined the Blue Jackets organization as a free agent in 2017. The Latvian goalkeeper has participated in eight professional NHL games, including two starts for Columbus in the 2020-21 season. Kivlenieks had two career victories and 187 saves and 208 shots on goal.
In the NHL debut on January 19, 2020, Kieflenix saved 31 of 32 shots in the victory over the New York Rangers.
Blue Jackets Hockey Operations President John Davidson said in a statement: “We are shocked and sad about the loss of Matiss Kivlenieks. During this devastating period, we express our deepest sympathy to his mother Astria, his family and friends. “Kivi is an outstanding young man. He greets everyone with a smile every day. The influence he has made during the four years of our organization will not be forgotten.”
Kivleniks represented Latvia in the 2021 International Ice Federation World Championships.
Photo: Kirk Irving/Getty Images
