The woman critically injured at the Ice Ribbon in Riverfront Park last week has passed away, according to family.
Over the weekend, the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department reported the woman had passed away, only to correct that release and say she was still in critical condition.
"We inaccurately reported last night that an injured skater had passed away. We confirmed today that she is in critical condition. We are terribly sorry for our error and misinformation. Our deepest thoughts and prayers remain with the family," Fianna Dickson, communications director for Spokane Parks and Recreation, said in a statement Sunday.
The woman was identified by family as Lorae Sims. Family says Sims passed away Sunday afternoon.
Monday morning, KHQ Local News Reporter Katie Chen spoke with Sims' younger brother, who stated the following:
"She was in intensive care and they had her on a breathing machine and whatever else to keep going. And they were hoping that they would have some improvement by Saturday morning once the swelling went down but it worsened overnight and basically told us that she wasn't going to come back. And we pretty much figured out she was gone. She was an organ donor so they decided to keep her on life support. It takes 24-48 hours to get everything set up to harvest the organs to take them. So she was just laying there in intensive care being supported by all the machinery until they could get that all set up which was about 4 o'clock yesterday (Sunday) afternoon when they did the surgery and they let her go totally at that point. but for us she was gone when her brain was gone" - Arley Roemer, Lorae Sims' youngest brother.
The Parks and Rec Department say they will continue to conduct a thorough review of the circumstances around the accident, and of all safety processes and practices.
Helmets were made available Sunday.
The Ice Ribbon will remain open during the investigation
Our thoughts are with Mrs. Sims' family.
(story: KHQ.com; photo: the Sims family)