Kristen Cameron Kristen Cameron is a women ' s ice hockey player from Prince Edward Island . While serving as an assistant coach for the Mercyhurst Lakers women ' s ice hockey program , she was involved in an accident on September 12 , 2010 that resulted in a spinal cord injury . Playing career . Cameron moved from P . E . I . to New Hampshire at the age of 17 to attend a prep school . NCAA Div . III . In the autumn of 2004 , Cameron joined Bowdoin College in Brunswick , Maine . While there , she was a three - time All - NESCAC selection and was honored as a 2005 - 06 First Team Division III All - American . In her sophomore season ( 2005 - 06 ) , she registered 12 goals and 20 assists , to rank third in team scoring with 32 points . Cameron led the club with three game - winning goals and four power play tallies . Her 44 penalty minutes also led the team . After two seasons , she accumulated 69 career points in just 53 games . In conference play , she was Bowdoin ’ s leading scorer , leading the team with 25 points in NESCAC contests . She helped Bowdoin finish as runners - up in the 2005 - 06 New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament with a record of 17 - 9 - 1 . Coaching career . Upon graduation , she joined the Castleton State College ( in Castleton , Vermont ) coaching staff in 2008 , as an assistant coach . One year later , she joined Michael Sisti ’ s coaching staff at Mercyhurst College in 2009 , an NCAA Division I women ’ s hockey program . While serving on the Castleton State Spartans coaching staff , she attended several seminars on coaching and leadership , including the NCAA Women ’ s Leadership Symposium and the NESCAC Coaching Symposium . Accident . On September 12 , 2010 , Cameron sustained a serious spinal cord injury which was given immediate medical care at Hamot Medical Center in Erie , Pennsylvania . She was hit by a drunk motorist driving a 1979 Chevrolet Caprice and thrown 15 metres off her bicycle . As a result , Kristen sustained a serious spinal cord injury , breaking her neck at the C6 and C7 vertebras , and leaving her paralyzed from the chest down , with limited mobility in her upper body . After two weeks in hospital in Erie , Kristen was transferred to St . Mike ' s Hospital in Toronto on September 26 , 2010 . Weeks later , she underwent rehabilitation at the Lyndhurst Centre in Toronto to improve her mobility . In May 2011 , the driver who struck Kristen , Allen Peters , was sentenced to three to six years . He pleaded guilty to the second - degree felony charge of aggravated assault while driving under the influence in the incident . Tributes . The UPEI Panthers men ' s hockey program played a benefit game against the UPEI alumni on Tuesday , October 5 , 2010 at MacLauchlan Arena . Proceeds from the Kristen Cameron Benefit Hockey went to assist her in her recovery from her spinal cord injury . Her father Brian , uncles Dave and Rick , and cousin Connor , all played hockey for the Panthers . The benefit hockey game was conceived by Panthers captain Thomas Waugh and teammate Kris MacDonald . Waugh played for the St . Mike ' s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League with Connor Cameron and was coached by Connor ' s father , Dave . Her story of recovery was the subject of a Canadian Broadcasting Company feature produced for their 2012 Hockey Day in Canada broadcast on February 11 , 2012 . During the 2010 – 11 Mercyhurst Lakers women ' s ice hockey season , the Lakers wore a patch on their jerseys with the initials K . C 10 - 11 . There were also fundraisers in the American communities where Kristen played hockey and coached . Emileigh Mercer ( a former Bowdoin field hockey goaltender ) was responsible for two fundraising events involving former Bowdoin atheltes , including a fundraiser for Cameron . The fundraiser was the 1st Annual Jingle Bell Benefit for Kristen Cameron , was hosted on Saturday , December 18 at The Four ' s in Boston . She was invited to drop the puck at the Opening Ceremonies at the George Trainor Minor Hockey Tournament in Charlottetown in December , 2011 . It was the first time she was back on the ice since her accident in September 2010 . In the Cameron family ' s home community of Kinkora , there was Kristen Cameron Week . Kinkora residents recently formed a Kristen Cameron Committee which led to the organization of an awareness week . In addition , a Kristen Cameron Benefit was held at the Kanata Club in Kinkora on November 27 , 2010 . to raise funds . Of note , the cost of her wheelchair was $ 30 , 000 . Kinkora Regional High School and Somerset Elementary had an awareness week , where students learned about what happened to Cameron . Her story of recovery was the subject of a Canadian Broadcasting Company feature produced for their 2012 Hockey Day in Canada broadcast on February 11 , 2012 . Personal . She graduated from Bowdoin College in 2008 with a degree in Education . At Mercyhurst College , she was working towards a Master ’ s of Science in Organizational Leadership . She has been able to travel to hockey and football games in the United States , and even tried gliding through a program called " Freedom Wings " , designed for people with disabilities . The first hockey game she saw since her rehabilitation began involved the American Hockey League ’ s Toronto Marlies host the Abbotsford Heat . Her father , Brian Cameron , served as president of Hockey PEI from 1993 - 95 . In addition , he has coached in the Charlottetown Minor Hockey Association . Her mother , Joanne , was an active volunteer in the minor hockey community . Her uncle , Charlie Cameron went onto play at the University of New Brunswick . In addition , he captured the world pond hockey title on two occasions , and he is also a corporal with the Fredericton police . Another uncle , Dave Cameron was part of Hockey Canada ’ s coaching staff at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championships , held in Buffalo , N . Y . With the help of her family , she visited HSBC Arena to see her uncle coach at the 2011 World Juniors . She witnessed Canada lose to Sweden in a shootout by a 6 - 5 final score . He was also a former NHL player , with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils . Currently , he is working as an assistant with the Ottawa Senators .