PORTLAND, Ore. -- The mother of Angela Nikodinov, a two-time bronze medalist in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, was killed in a car accident Wednesday morning as the family traveled to the competition.
Delores Nikodinov, 48, of San Pedro, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene. Angela Nikodinov and her father, Nick, were treated at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and were released. Nikodinov's coach, Igor Pashkevich, is in fair condition at the hospital and was to be kept overnight.
"Her parents are her life. She's incredibly close to them," said David Baden, Nikodinov's agent. "Angela and her mother had the most infectious laugh. The same laugh. That that voice is silent is so shocking.
"No one deserves this."
U.S. Figure Skating announced late Wednesday that Nikodinov had withdrawn from the competition. The women's short program is Thursday night.
"We are extremely saddened by this tragedy and all our support is with Angela and her family at this time," U.S. Figure Skating said in a release. "Our hearts go out to her and her father. The figure skating community is a close one, and we all grieve with the Nikodinov family."
The news wasn't announced until Wednesday night, after most of the senior skaters had finished their practices, and it was met with shock as it filtered around.
"That is just devastating," said pairs skater John Baldwin, who had gotten to know the Nikodinovs over the years. "Her mother is always in such good spirits. She always came to the rink with Angela, she was always real proud of her. She was enjoying her daughter's success. That that's cut short, it's not right."
Added his partner, Rena Inoue, "She was a sweet, soft lady."
According to Portland police, Nikodinov and her family were in a shuttle from the airport a little after 9 a.m. PT when the lime green minivan collided with a Volkswagen Jetta on Interstate 205. The shuttle hit a cement barrier, police said, and the right front tire blew out.
The van flipped onto its side and skidded along the pavement for a short distance before coming to a stop, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, a spokesman for the Portland police. Delores Nikodinov was sitting next to a window that exploded, and Schmautz said she died of head trauma.
"It's our understanding it was more of a fluke, just simply because of the victim's position in the vehicle," Schmautz said. "Had the van not rolled or had she been in a slightly different place, the accident may not have killed her."
The driver of the car was identified as Melisa Kirkpatrick of Vancouver, Wash. She was not hurt. The driver of the van, Sergey Anikin, was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
