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Flying hockey puck hits man in the face on Red River skating trail

Flying hockey puck hits man in the face on Red River skating trail

A Winnipeg man is calling on The Forks to improve safety along the Red River skating trail after he was knocked out by a stray hockey puck that hit him in the head earlier this week.

Peter R. Bignell said he was skating with friends on the Red River Mutual Trail on Monday afternoon when a puck came flying toward them from a designated hockey rink nearby.

"On our way back from the south side — where St. Boniface Hospital was — we were coming underneath the bridge and we could hear people go, 'Whoa! Whoa!' And then all of a sudden, boom! I blacked out," he said.

The puck struck Bignell in the face. He said he later learned he was unconscious for about 30 seconds.

"I kind of spun around and hit the ground," he said. When I came to, that's when I felt the pain and then I started freaking out."

Bignell said the person who shot the puck came over and apologized to him, explaining that their slapshot had ricocheted off a pole. The person stayed with him until a medic with The Forks arrived, he added.

The incident has left Bignell with a bloody wound above his left eye. He said he currently cannot see out of that eye, but doctors are hopeful his vision can be restored.

They told him that if the puck had come a couple centimetres closer he could have lost the eye altogether, he added.

Bignell said he's concerned the hockey rink is located so close to the skating trail, with no warning signs in sight. The rink and the skating trail are separated by a line of small trees.

A spokesperson for The Forks told CBC News on Wednesday it is investigating the incident.