GENESEO – Geneseo Police have found what they believe to be the cause of a mysterious traumatic head injury for Jason ‘Jay’ Stephanik, a SUNY Geneseo sophomore and ice hockey player, who is currently in guarded condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Strong Memorial Hospital.
According to Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian, no one at first knew what had caused the injury, as Stephanik was admitted to the hospital days after the incident when non-apparent injuries began to complicate. Records of ambulance calls to Court Street on Oct. 25 held the answer.
“An ambulance call was made out to Court Street on October 25 at 2:54 a.m. for a young man fallen off of a skateboard,” said Chief Osganian. “He refused transport but was admitted to the hospital on October 28. We found no other incident that anyone witnessed that could have caused the injury, and he had no marks or injuries that suggested an altercation.”
According to a GoFundMe.com page set up to help with the family’s medical bills, Stephanik was found to have suffered a fracture to the back of his skull, and his frontal lobe was bleeding. Strong Memorial Hospital said that Stephanik is in the ICU in guarded condition.
“[Jay] has suffered from periodic seizures, and his speech has been gravely affected,” says the GoFundMe page. “The cause of Jay’s injuries are not entirely known.”
Stephanik’s story has drawn an inspiring outpouring of generosity from the community. As of 8;52 a.m. on Nov. 3, the GoFundMe page has raised $20,690 towards its goal of $25,000, up from $11,185 on Nov. 2.
The GoFundMe page said that as of Nov. 1, Jay has shown some signs of progress by walking with little aid. His family is hopeful that he will recover.
In the 2014-15 season, Stephanik played in 16 games scoring 1 goal and had 5 assists.
Stephanik also played with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the Unitied States Hockey League (USHL) the premier Junior “A” League in the country.