Dad killed in 'tragic accident' marks second ice rink death in just weeks
Victor Schikker, 67, is being remembered for his sense of humour, professionalism and love of his family.
A father of three who died in tragic accident at an ice skating rink late last week is being remembered as "as a man with a big heart" and a "sharp-witted sense of humour" who will "be sorely missed by all".
Stock agent Victor Schikker died at the Staveley Hall Society in Ashburton in Canterbury, New Zealand on Friday, marking the second death at a rink in the country in just weeks. Schikker, aged 67, organised a curling event — a team sport played where two teams take turns to slide stones on ice — as part of a social function when he "fell and hit his head".
Loved ones say he sustained a fatal blow and was knocked instantly unconscious and never woke back up. "He fell on the ice. He was with people and he fell backwards… it's hard to know exactly what happened but I think it was the actual blow to the head was almost instantaneous," Victor's brother Steve told Stuff.
"He never recovered consciousness at all. Thousands of curlers have been curling for hundreds of years... accidents happen and this is a very tragic accident."
Steve said Victor was "very proud" of his family and "who he represented". "He's hugely well-known in Canterbury with 50 years as a Livestock Rep visiting multiple people per day and he was also the most recent president of the Ashburton A&P society," he said.
In a statement, Victor's children shared their gratitude for all their father had done for the family. "The support that he gave us throughout all our years so far, we could just never be more thankful," the statement said.
PGG Wrightson CEO Stephen Guerin said Schikker was a "valued member of our team".
"[He was] a man with a big heart, his sharp-witted sense of humour and will be sorely missed by all who knew him," Guerin said.
The death has now been referred to the coroner.
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The accident comes merely weeks after Kymani Mana Hetaraka, 13, was ice skating at the Alpine Ince Sports Centre in Christchurch when she also fell on the ice and sustained a catastrophic head injury.
It was described as "unsurvivable".
"Sadly while on a school excursion Kymani fell sustaining an unsurvivable head injury," her relatives wrote on a fundraising page in wake of the tragedy. Her grandmother Tina Hiley, her great aunt and aunt — who created the page — called the situation "a parent's worst nightmare".
"Sending your child to school and to never return home. Her parents, brothers, sisters and whānau are devastated," they wrote.
The 13-year-old died in hospital just days later.
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