No criminal charges will be brought over the 2023 death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Tuesday.
Johnson died after sustaining a cut to the neck in a collision with another player during the second period of the Nottingham Panthers’ game against the Sheffield Steelers in England on October 28, 2023.
A Sheffield coroner’s report found that the 29-year-old “sustained an incised wound to the neck caused by the skate of another player” and later died in hospital as a result of the injury.
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The CPS said it worked with South Yorkshire Police to determine whether criminal charges would be brought against an unnamed professional hockey player. Matthew Petgrave previously said he was the other hockey player involved in the incident when he appealed for donations to help fund his legal fees.
According to deputy chief crown prosecutor Michael Quinn, the CPS concluded that “there is not a realistic prospect of conviction for any criminal offence and so there will not be a prosecution.”
Adam Johnson playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. NHLI via Getty Images
“This was a shocking and deeply upsetting incident. The CPS and South Yorkshire Police have worked closely together to determine whether any criminal charges should be brought against the other ice hockey player involved, Quinn said.
“Following a thorough police investigation and a comprehensive review of all the evidence by the CPS, we have concluded that there is not a realistic prospect of conviction for any criminal offence and so there will not be a prosecution.”
CNN has contacted Burton Copeland, the law firm listed on the crowdfunding page as Petgrave’s representatives, for comment.
Born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Johnson started his professional career in the American Hockey League before progressing to the National Hockey League (NHL).
He featured in 13 games over two years for the Pittsburgh Penguins and also played in Sweden and Germany before joining the Panthers for the 2023-24 season.
Johnson’s death sparked an outpouring of tributes to the American from across the hockey world, with Johnson’s family remembering him as a “thoughtful, patient and genuinely authentic” person who “took pleasure in the small, everyday things.”
Following Johnson’s death, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) made the wearing of protective neck guards mandatory at all levels, including the Winter Olympics and World Championships.
