- Both Briere and Patrick Carrozzi were sentenced to fifteen months' probation
- Briere and Carrozzi are seen on surveillance video pushing the wheelchair
- READ MORE: Flyers GM Daniel Briere responds to outrage over his son's actions
The son of Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere has been placed on probation for pushing a woman's empty wheelchair down the steps of a bar in Erie, Pennsylvania, earlier this year.
Carson Briere, a former college hockey player at Arizona State and Mercyhurst, and ex-Mercyhurst lacrosse player Patrick Carrozzi have both been approved by a Pennsylvania judge to participate in a program for first-time, non-violent offenders.
Both men will be on probation for 15 months, and when these sentences are completed, along with the court-ordered program, their second-degree misdemeanor charges will be dismissed and expunged from their criminal record.
Briere and Carrozzi are seen on surveillance video at the top of a staircase at a local bar in Erie, pushing the wheelchair down the stairs on March 11. Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a dangerous situation by blocking the stairs.
The owner of the wheelchair, identified as Sydney Benes, filed a complaint, saying the fall down the stairs damaged the left brake lever, broke the plastic molding of the right armrest, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward to ride. Benes said the wheelchair was purchased a year ago and cost $2,000.
Carson Briere (right) is the son of Flyers GM and former Sabers forward Daniel (left)
A video on social media showed Briere and Carrozzi pushing the empty wheelchair
Sydney (pictured), the disabled woman whose wheelchair was destroyed after a former NHL player's son pushed him down the stairs
Benes, who lost her legs in a car accident in 2021, said she was using the downstairs restroom with the help of a security guard at Sullivan's Irish Pub when she discovered her wheelchair was damaged at the bottom of the stairs.
“The only thing going through my head was, 'God, I hope this was an accident, I really hope someone accidentally knocked him down the stairs somehow,'” she told Inside Edition.
'They laughed about it. It was really hurtful and disrespectful and just heartbreaking,” she added.
“Carson was told to come and apologize to me and the apology was completely insincere,” she said.
“People said, 'Oh, he's acting like a child.' No child, in my opinion, would throw a wheelchair down the stairs because they have a heart and morals.”
Briere later apologized in a statement released through the NHL's Flyers.
“I am deeply sorry for my behavior last Saturday,” he said.
“There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do everything I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”
A GoFundMe was set up for her, which raised more than $8,000 before it closed. Benes told Inside Edition that she would use the money to replace or repair her chair. She would donate any remaining amount to other disabled people.