Report: Danny Briere, Young Son Involved In Scary Car Accident In New York; Both Are Okay

by Travis Hughes on Jun 17, 2010 1:52 PM EDT in News

UPDATE, 3:44 PM: Briere has released a short statement regarding his accident, via the Flyers:

Philadelphia Flyers center Danny Briere was involved in a car accident in upstate New York in the early morning hours of June 17. He has issued the following statement:

"I was in a car accident in New York," said Briere. "I was driving home to visit family and friends back in Canada when I got into an accident [Wednesday] night. My youngest son (Cameron) and I are both okay. We are doing fine."

Briere and his son were the only passengers in the car.

Briere added that he appreciates everyone's concern, and kindly requests that the media respect his privacy and refrain from contacting him at this time.

ORIGINAL POST, 1:52 PM: NBC Philadelphia is reporting that Danny Briere was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer today in Binghamton, New York.

The details:

Briere was trying to pass a tractor-trailer on Interstate-81. He was a little drowsy, according to state police, drifted into the other lane of traffic, swiping the tractor-trailer.

The big rig swerved and jackknifed, tying up traffic for hours.

Briere's car hit a guardrail. He and his son were both taken to the hospital, treated and released.

We're obviously glad Danny and his young son, Cameron, are okay. This gets really scary after the jump, though. NBC Philadelphia has a gallery of photos of Danny's Range Rover after the crash.

The inside of the car...

Briere_car_wreck_airbag_medium

The side...

And the front...

Briere_car_wreck_front_medium

More photos at NBC Philadelphia. It's by sheer luck, apparently, that nobody was sitting in the back seat. The drivers seat and passengers seat, presumably where Danny and his son were sitting, are okay. If someone was sitting in the back of that car, though, the aftermath would be heartbreaking.

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Thank you, Powers-That-Be-In-The-Universe.

#1 Flyers fan in England (originally from Southeastern PA)

by Orange and Black Forever on Jun 17, 2010 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

Holy crap. Glad he’s okay. That’s some scary shit right there.

Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Jun 17, 2010 2:06 PM EDT reply actions

You ain’t kidding. No more Pelle Lindberghs, please.

"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko

by doubleh on Jun 17, 2010 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

not to be too crass here….but Danny wasn’t drunk

by KevinEdward on Jun 17, 2010 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but falling asleep at the wheel can have the same effects, unfortunately. And my point was that I don’t want to lose another great player to a car crash, regardless of the cause.

"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko

by doubleh on Jun 17, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

You don’t want to lose any player period, but I know what you mean. Good news that him and his son are okay.

by Mario's Mullet on Jun 17, 2010 8:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Epic username, by the way.

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Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.

by Travis Hughes on Jun 17, 2010 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha thank you

by Mario's Mullet on Jun 17, 2010 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Any word if Brendan Witt was driving the Tractor-Trailer?

The Islanders went from Marty McInnis and a 2nd Overall pick to Jesse Joensuu.

by Mark D on Jun 17, 2010 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Wow

Glad to hear that everyone is ok.

Refs completely miss hit and no penalty was called on the tractor trailer.

"Call me dumb, call me stupid, whatever. I block shots."

by boknows71 on Jun 17, 2010 2:12 PM EDT reply actions

I laughed out loud on this one.

by orangeandblack20 on Jun 17, 2010 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha I enjoyed that as well

by Mario's Mullet on Jun 18, 2010 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Pictures of Briere’s car. Holy cow.

by Ben Feldman on Jun 17, 2010 2:12 PM EDT reply actions

good thing he was driving a Range Rover and not some little sports car.

Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com

by HockeyOutsiders on Jun 17, 2010 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions

that first picture is just… terrifying.

Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Jun 17, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Frightening. Glad he and his son are okay

"Game 7's are tough... It's a game that's made for men and our guys proved to be men today." -Laviolette

by PatterPoet95 on Jun 17, 2010 2:47 PM EDT reply actions

Don't drive sleepy!

Briere has released a short statement

Can he release any other kind of statement?

That looks pretty terrifying, glad he and his son are ok.

New Zealand's 4th best Philadelphia Flyers fan

by ToddtheFox on Jun 17, 2010 4:49 PM EDT reply actions

Alright, that cracked me up…

I, too, am very glad that nobody was hurt. Driving sleepy is very dangerous indeed.

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(Oh, and go Philly teams as well!)

by Jordan Ellel on Jun 17, 2010 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh my. Thank goodness both Briere and his son made it out okay.

Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor."

by Justin F. on Jun 17, 2010 7:44 PM EDT reply actions

Those pictures are just scary! Thank God his son was in the front seat and not sleeping in the back that late at night. Driving sleepy is dangerous.

by Kanayd on Jun 17, 2010 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

If you're not drowsy, you're probably on drugs

…or at least that’s the case on this particular section of road. I went to college in Virginia, and took 81 from there all the way up into New York, and believe me when I say it’s quite possibly one of the most boring drives in the world. Seeing people doze off and abruptly go on the shoulder and back on the road was/is a very common occurrence for both car and truck drivers alike. Accidentally did it a few times myself, while a friend of mine was also sleeping in the passenger seat (she didn’t even wake up when I was on the shoulder, hah).

Anyway, the pictures are very horrific, but I’m very glad to hear that Danny and his son are both OK. Fly next time though, that drive sucks.

by CTFlyer on Jun 17, 2010 9:45 PM EDT reply actions

Wow, I just saw those pictures and there was definitely a higher power at play here keeping them safe. The first picture I saw I saw part of the windshield and airbags and thought “Ok, that doesn’t look too terrible” (no accident looks good). Then the pictures of the back missing were very scary. I didn’t realize it was a Land Rover until the last picture that’s how bad it is. But thank God he and his son are safe.

And CTFlyer is right, that is one of the most boring stretches of road anywhere, 10 miles between exits and once you pass Binghamton there’s nothing til Syracuse. Drowsiness on that road isn’t good, next time he should get a private driver or fly, but I’m glad they’re safe.

#1 Flyers Fan in New York

by Lindbergh 31 on Jun 17, 2010 9:55 PM EDT reply actions

I’ll also confirm what you two just said – that is one of the most boring stretches of road in the Northeastern US. Between Binghamton and Syracuse, I-81 is just a vast expanse of empty sameness. There are accidents on a relatively regular basis due to drowsiness, just like CTFlyer said. That section of the Interstate should be sponsored by Sominex (or, even better – thinking more logically – Red Bull).

Anyway, thank goodness they are both safe.

#1 Flyers fan in England (originally from Southeastern PA)

by Orange and Black Forever on Jun 18, 2010 5:37 AM EDT up reply actions

This has been bugging me for the past 24 hours, but does anybody else feel like there’s a missing major detail to this story? I’m entirely saying this out of concern for Danny, not condemning his actions….

From Haddonfield to Binghamton is roughly 3ish hours, and roughly 8ish hours to go all the way to Ottawa/Gatineau (which is my best guess of his destination, because that’s where he grew up and the route fits). If the accident happened at 12:30 am, that means he left Haddonfield around 9:30 pm to make the drive overnight. Personally, I figure that if he had been planning in advance to do that drive overnight, he wouldn’t have been tired enough for this to happen less than halfway into the trip. As bad as that section of I-81 between Binghamton and Syracuse is, I think the section between Syracuse and Watertown, NY isn’t any better; and the 401 and 416 after crossing the Thousand Islands bridge aren’t exactly exciting roads. Other than Binghamton and Syracuse themselves, there isn’t a whole lot going on anywhere along the route once you hit the end of the Northeast Extension.

Pure speculation, but I’m feeling like maybe there was some kind of emergency back home? Maybe he didn’t have time to try to fly there, and instead had to make a snap decision and leave right away. In other words, I really hope everything is okay with the people he was on his way to see, and I’m really grateful Danny and his son are okay.

by DragonGirl0583 on Jun 18, 2010 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

Could still be tired from playing so deeply into the season. I imagine these guys already felt like they’d been hit by trucks—pun intended.

I dated a guy when I was in HS that every time he was on a long stretch of road, he would drift off or get drowsy, even if he was wide awake when the drive began. Some people are just lulled to sleep by moving vehicles, in which case they probably should take public transportation.

Maybe he’s just a procrastinator who had originally planned to leave hours before? (oh wait, that’s me—little personal injection there)

"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko

by doubleh on Jun 18, 2010 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions