Injured hockey fan gets an unexpected visitor
Dan Klinck received a personal visit from a Windsor Spitfire with the Memorial Cup in hand on Thursday, and all he had to do was get hit by a car.
The season-ticket holder missed the dramatic final game of the Memorial Cup series on Sunday because he was hit by a car while crossing McHugh Street on his way to the WFCU Centre. After hearing what happened, Spitfire Cristiano DiGiacinto paid him a visit Thursday at the hospital.
“It was great fun,” Klinck said, sitting up in his hospital bed. “I love that kid. I saw him hustle all year. He’s one of them character guys.”
The hardcore fan didn’t miss a single Memorial Cup game, except for the one that really mattered. The Spitfires beat the Erie Otters 4-3 to take the trophy after going undefeated in the tournament.
“I went to everyone, I went to every Mem Cup game,” said Klinck, who already has season tickets for next year. “I went to all the boring ones too. I went to the bad ones. This was going to be the best one of all. I was a little too stoked. I managed to get hit by a car.”
Windsor police received the call shorty after 6:30 p.m. Sunday about a pedestrian struck by a car at the intersection of McHugh Street and Mickey Renaud Way. Sgt. Steve Betteridge said police investigated and won’t be laying any charges.
Klinck said he doesn’t remember much from the hit except that he got dropped off on McHugh Street and tried to cross the road.
“I was getting dropped off and managed to be flying through the air,” said Klinck.
He suffered a broken ankle, broken thumb and some head injuries.
After hearing what happened, the hockey club wanted someone to pay Klinck a visit. DiGiacinto, who already spent the year visiting sick kids in the hospital, was on board.
“I was like, hell yeah,” he said. “I jumped right to it. When I heard the situation, you gotta come help. The fans were such a big part of winning this. Everyone should get a chance to see it or feel it.”
A wide smile stretched across Klinck’s bruised face as he posed for photos with DiGiacinto and the Memorial Cup, giving a thumbs up with a cast-covered digit.
“To go through something so tragic, especially on the way to the game, you couldn’t have written that,” said DiGiacinto. “It’s upsetting because those are the true fans. They wanted to be there and it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t. But at least we got to do this for him. It’s something special that I hope he doesn’t forget.”