Tara Sloan, 20: Canadian national team swimmer
saintkiss
National team swimmer Tara Sloan dies in Calgary hospital
CALGARY (CP) - Tara Sloan, a member of the national swim team who held the
Canadian record for the 100-metre breaststroke, died in hospital Saturday
from injuries suffered in a car accident earlier this month.
Sloan, 20, had been in a medically-induced coma after the van she was
driving rolled on a southern Alberta highway March 3.
"Tara passed away early this morning," said Darin Barter, Calgary Regional
Hospital Authority spokesman. "The family is working to set up a memorial
service."
Sloan, from Calgary, was on Highway 1 about 20 kilometres east of Medicine
Hat, Alta., when the accident occurred.
RCMP said her minivan strayed into the centre median of the divided highway.
When she tried to re-enter traffic, she crossed both lanes of the road,
entered the south ditch and rolled the vehicle. She suffered head and chest
injuries.
A four-year member of the national team, Sloan's specialty was the 100- and
200-metre breaststroke. She was a five-time national champion and placed
eighth in the 20-metre event at last summer's Pan Am Games in Winnipeg.
"It was a very tough night at the pool," national team coach Dave Johnson
said in a telephone interview from the Canadian spring championships at the
Etobicoke Olympium in Toronto.
"She was always a very good spirit . . . kindhearted, always with time to
spend to help her teammates."
Johnson said the Calgary team dedicated the night's events in her memory,
and won both relays.
"Many of the kids really lifted themselves despite the news," he said. "They
did credit to themselves."
The Calgary team won the men's, women's and overall team titles.
"They did it for Tara," said team coach Mike Blondal. "They swam with
extreme courage. They cheered and rallied for Tara. The final event (4x100
medley relay) was for her."
Calgary won both the men's and women's medley relays.
Johnson said the national team will have to rally to fill the hole left in
the Sloan's specialty in time for the Olympics.
"She was always a great competitor," he said. "The team will dedicate the
rest of the year to her."
The accident happened as Sloan was driving to visit her grandmother in Swift
Current, Sask., to think about her future in the sport.
For the last three years she had been dedicated to trying to get on the
Canadian Olympic team.
Sloan's teammates held prayer meetings following the accident and many
others had been to visit and hold her hand before she died. © The Canadian
Press, 2000
Brad Ferguson
saintkiss <sain...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
> RCMP said her minivan strayed into the centre median of the divided highway.
> When she tried to re-enter traffic, she crossed both lanes of the road,
> entered the south ditch and rolled the vehicle. She suffered head and chest
> injuries.
This sounds like she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Does anyone know?
Sorry to be a bug about this, but I hate it when a 20-year-old dies for
nothing.
Xx Angelsea xX
Doesn't answer your question, but isn't seatbelt use required in all of Canada?
I know it is in the eastern proviences.
-----------------
Ninety7GT
AOD
-- In article <3887E9A8...@mindgames.zip.com.au> The Idjuit Rick Mather
aka "Kadaitcha Man" realizing he's been SPANKED gathers all his sockpuppets and
declares: " <PLONK!> "
Michael Richmann
>
> In article <8QHy4.9514$qa.4...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> saintkiss <sain...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
>
> > RCMP said her minivan strayed into the centre median of the divided highway.
> > When she tried to re-enter traffic, she crossed both lanes of the road,
> > entered the south ditch and rolled the vehicle. She suffered head and chest
> > injuries.
>
> This sounds like she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Does anyone know?
>
> Sorry to be a bug about this, but I hate it when a 20-year-old dies for
> nothing.
Hard to say. This assumes the rollover protection in minivans is pretty
robust, which may or may not be the case...
--
Mike
Cheer
>
> In article <8QHy4.9514$qa.4...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> saintkiss <sain...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
>
> > RCMP said her minivan strayed into the centre median of the divided highway.
> > When she tried to re-enter traffic, she crossed both lanes of the road,
> > entered the south ditch and rolled the vehicle. She suffered head and chest
> > injuries.
>
> This sounds like she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Does anyone know?
>
> Sorry to be a bug about this, but I hate it when a 20-year-old dies for
> nothing.
I don't have a lot of faith in the durability of minivans. My husband
and two daughters were in an accident two years ago involving a minivan
(we had a little Toyota Tercel). My husband and oldest daughter were in
the front seat (wearing seatbelts) and basically suffered "soft tissue"
injury...aches, pains, seatbelt bruises. My three year old, in the back
seat in her car seat, broke her leg (she had braced her legs against the
back of the front seat). BUT, the minivan the other driver was driving
pretty much imploded on impact, the passenger side caved in and the
driver suffered head injuries from hitting her head sideways against the
driver's side window. I remember her suffering seizures at the accident
scene and being flown to Shock Trauma. Now, an air bag might have
prevented her injuries, but she was wearing a seatbelt. BTW, she did
recover, and was held liable for the accident.
Cheer
fift...@my-deja.com
all. There was a picture of the vehicle in the Calgary Herald last
week, barely even resembled a van. Man was pretty shocked to read
about the matter period. Sigh.
> Hard to say. This assumes the rollover protection in minivans is
pretty
> robust, which may or may not be the case...
>
> --
> Mike
>
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