A woman whose wheelchair was thrown down the stairs by the son of an NHL star is breaking her silence on television

• Sydney Benes, 22, was using the bathroom at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie on Saturday when Carson Brière pushed his wheelchair down the stairs.
• He said he and his friends “laughed it off” and said it was “offensive and disrespectful and just kind of heartbreaking” to see.
• People said, “Oh, he’s acting like a child.” No kid would throw a wheelchair down the stairs … because they have a heart and morals,” he said.

A disabled woman whose wheelchair was thrown down the stairs at the son of an NHL star has broken her silence, saying the whole ordeal was “heartbreaking”.

Sydney Benes, 22, who lost her leg in a 2021 car accident, was using the downstairs restroom at Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday when she noticed her wheelchair was damaged at the bottom of the stairs.

He had gone downstairs to the bathroom with the help of a security guard and left his chair upstairs.

“All I could think of was, ‘God, I hope this was an accident, I really hope someone just accidentally knocked it down somehow,'” she told Inside Edition in tonight’s episode.

He later learned that Mercyhurst University student Carson Brière, son of NHL star Daniel Brière, had been responsible.

‘They laughed at it. It was really hurtful and disrespectful and just kind of heartbreaking,” she told Inside Edition.

“Carson was told to come and apologize to me, and the apology was pretty disingenuous,” she said.

People said, “Oh, he’s acting like a child.” I don’t think any child would throw a wheelchair down the stairs because they have a heart and morals.

Benes’ legs were amputated two years ago after he was involved in a car accident, and now his vital wheelchair has been significantly damaged.

“The brake is bent, so it makes it difficult to lock it,” he told Inside Edition. “The nails are broken, and we believe the frame is warped.”

A GoFundMe was set up for him and raised more than $8,000 before closing. Benes told Inside Edition that he would use the money to replace or repair his chair. He would donate the remaining amount to other disabled people.

“I’d rather take this and make it a learning experience for everybody,” he shared. – I would rather make people aware of the things that disabled people have to go through. We just want a little help, a little understanding.

This comes after he initially said he would turn down the $8,000 in cash.

“I swear I really don’t want to keep a cent of the money donated, I’d rather give it to those who need it,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

In another tweet, he adds that Sullivan’s security staff “had Carson come to apologize, but it was very disingenuous,” claiming that after the apology, he immediately asked, “Do I still have to go?” after being asked to leave the bar.

The response came after Brière, a junior on the Mercyhurst University hockey team in Pennsylvania, admitted he had a “severe lapse in judgment” in a statement to DailyMail.com when he was caught on camera pushing a chair down the stairs on Sullivan’s last step. weekend.

His father is Daniel Brière, 45, a former NHL player who scored more than 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 that the investigation was still ongoing Thursday.

Mercyhurst confirmed the sports suspension of three athletes late Wednesday.

“After conducting a preliminary investigation into the incidents depicted on social media, the Mercyhurst Athletics Department has determined that the three individuals in the video are student-athletes,” they said in a statement.

“We have suspended all three from their sports teams in accordance with school policy pending the outcome of the investigative process.”

The shocking video shows Brière, wearing a white cap, spotting a wheelchair at the top of the stairs before leaping forward in it, standing up and pushing it down the stairs.

Julia Zutkowski posted the shocking video on Tuesday, writing: “I don’t usually post anything serious on my twitter but something happened Saturday night and I can’t help but think this kid got away with it. The video below features a @MercyhurstU student and is currently @HurstMensHockey Carson Briere.

He added: “The chair was left on the stairs because he had to be physically carried down to use the toilet. They are only downstairs.

In a statement to DailyMail.com via the Flyers, Carson Brière said: “I deeply regret my behavior on Saturday. There is no excuse for my actions and I will do everything I can to make up for this serious lapse in judgment.

Father Daniel made similar apologies in his own statement.

“I was shocked to see Carson’s actions in the video that was shared on social media yesterday,” he said in a statement. – They are unforgivable and completely against our family’s values ​​of respecting people. Carson is very sorry and takes full responsibility for his behavior.

Hours after their apology, the university released a statement both praying for Sydney and reminding people to try to let those who made mistakes make amends.

“Mercyhurst University has received considerable outcry over a social media video showing student Carson Brière pushing an empty wheelchair down a flight of stairs.”

‘Mr. Brière issued a statement today accepting responsibility for his actions, and in doing so he admitted that his behavior reflected “serious judgement” and that he was “deeply sorry”.

‘The actions shown in the video make our hearts heavy and do not correspond to Mercy’s belief in the inherent dignity of every human being. We pray and stand in solidarity with the victim and all disabled people who rightly find such actions deeply offensive.

“Our tradition of mercy also reminds us that students and all people who make bad choices deserve an opportunity to learn, change their behavior, and atone for their harmful actions.”

This is not the first time Brière has faced disciplinary problems on campus.

In 2019, Brière and another player were “dismissed” from the Arizona State University program “for violating team rules,” according to the Walter Cronkite Sports Network.

Brière — who previously received invitations to the Flyers’ youth development camp — had never played for a rookie program because he has gone through the NCAA’s “redshirting” process, where college athletes often don’t play a full season to extend their playing time. eligibility.

He spent the rest of the school year playing junior hockey in Canada before transferring to Mercyhurst.

Brière moved from a huge public state school in Arizona to Mercyhurst, a small program at a 2,700-student private Catholic college in Erie, Pennsylvania.

In 2021, an interview with College Hockey News headlined that he was getting a “second chance” explained the reasons behind Brière’s dismissal.

‘I was just going out; I didn’t take hockey seriously. It wasn’t anything bad, it was just not committed to hockey, I was more committed to having fun at school,” he said. “Too much partying, that’s probably the best way to put it.”

He claimed he was given a lesson from his Arizona State experience that he had applied to his new school.

‘It made me realize when you get to this level, it’s work, isn’t it? It’s not just something you can do for fun,” he said. “Obviously, you have to have fun while you’re doing it. I think that’s what keeps people going, but also knowing when you can and when you can’t do things.”

‘It’s usually maturing. I honestly think it was a big lesson for me, helped me become a more well-rounded hockey player and look at life and everything from a different perspective.