Baiul faces drunk driving charges in Connecticut (01/19/97)

Baiul faces drunk driving charges in Connecticut

TORONTO - One best-known sports icon, Oksana Baiul, turned herself in to police on January 14 to face drunk driving and reckless driving charges in Bloomfield, Conn.

According to an Associated Press report of January 13, the 1994 Olympic gold medalist had attended a Sunday-night ice pageant at the Hartford Civic Center and visited the skaters backstage.

At around 2:30 a.m. Ms. Baiul skidded off Route 185 in her green Mercedes-Benz, then was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center by ambulance after a concerned local resident called 911 upon hearing screeching of tires and a sudden stop.

The Dnipropetrovsk-born figure skater was treated for a concussion and received 12 stitches to close a gash in her scalp, and was released at 6 a.m. the same morning. A passenger in the car, Ararat Zakarian, 30 (described by the AP as a "fellow Ukrainian skater living in New York City"), was treated for a broken finger and was also released.

However, AP reporter Christine Hanley ferreted out the medical report on Ms. Baiul's condition at the time she was brought to the hospital, which noted that the 19-year-old (two years under the legal drinking age) had a blood-alcohol level of 0.168 percent (over Connecticut's limit of 0.10).

This report apparently prompted local police to seek a warrant for her arrest. At 4 p.m. on the following day (January 14), Ms. Baiul surrendered to the authorities and issued a statement, also carried by AP: "I apologize to the many people who have supported me in the past, and I ask for their understanding." Ms. Baiul was released without bond and ordered to appear in court on January 27.

A follow-up report by Ms. Hanley focused on the sympathies aroused in Simsbury, the site of the International Skating Center of Connecticut where Ms. Baiul now trains, as well as of her new nine-room house. The item quoted an unnamed instructor at the center who said, "She's so lost that little girl. She needs a mom and a dad."

"From Rags to Riches. Then What?", Jere Longman's report in the January 15 edition of The New York Times, cited other sources. "Friends" and "others close to [Ms. Baiul]" speaking on the condition of anonymity told Mr. Longman that "nobody tells [Ms. Baiul] the truth and puts her in her place," and that she has been "rebellious" and "wild."

Although Ms. Baiul has missed the beginning of a 25-city tour organized by Tom Collins, the promoter put things into perspective. "You get into the skating world with no guidance, no mother, father, grandmother, it's very tough ... She's had injuries. Her body is changing dramatically. It's been very difficult for her."

Mr. Collins expressed the hope that Ms. Baiul would recover from her injuries and join the tour in a week.

The Times reporter also quoted the skater's longtime mentors Viktor and Nina Petrenko, who expressed concern for the former world champion and an expectation that "maybe this [incident] will be a good lesson," but also noted that Ms. Baiul has not listened to their advice recently.

Although she is mentioned in most reports, Ms. Baiul's coach Halyna Zmiyevska, who took the orphaned skater under her wing at Mr. Petrenko's urging and then assisted her ascendancy to the summit of her sport, had not offered any comments for the record.

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