Travis Roy, Who Inspired Millions After a Hockey Tragedy, Dies at 45
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NY Times Hockey
After an awkward fall 11 seconds into his first Boston University game left him a quadriplegic, he dedicated his life to advocacy for similarly disabled people. Travis Roy, who suffered a paralyzing injury just 11 seconds into his first hockey game for Boston University in 1995 and, as a philanthropist and motivational speaker, was revered by the sports world as an example of determination and courage, died on Thursday in a hospital outside Burlington, Vt. The cause was complications of surgery he needed after two and a half decades of being in a wheelchair, Keith VanOrden, his brother-in-law, said. In the opening seconds of a televised college hockey game on Oct. 20, 1995, Roy, a forward, skated in to body-check an opposing defenseman, crashed into the boards and fell to the ice.
Shortly after Roy’s accident, more than 200 special church Masses and prayer services were held in his honor, according to his father, Lee.
Travis Roy was born on April 17, 1975, in Yarmouth, Maine, to Brenda and Lee Roy.
I was just 10 feet away when it happened,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 2006.
In addition to his father, Roy is survived by his mother and a sister, Tobi VanOrden.
Shortly after Roy’s accident, more than 200 special church Masses and prayer services were held in his honor, according to his father, Lee.
Travis Roy was born on April 17, 1975, in Yarmouth, Maine, to Brenda and Lee Roy.
I was just 10 feet away when it happened,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 2006.
In addition to his father, Roy is survived by his mother and a sister, Tobi VanOrden.