Danielle Uskiwich’s family tells PEOPLE her hospitalization “gave us the opportunity to spend time with her” before she died
NEED TO KNOW
- Danielle Uskiwich died after being kicked in the head while crowd surfing
- Doctors later discovered pre-existing blood clots led to strokes, which caused her death
- Uskiwich’s organ donations have already saved four lives, and her family plans to honor her with a memorial fund
The family of a young woman who died following an accidental kick to the head from a crowd surfer is opening up about the tragic incident.
“It’s hard for me to talk about her in past tense,” Kristin Shelton tells PEOPLE about her “baby cousin,” Danielle Uskiwich, 28. “She had an infectious smile. She’s so kind, so generous.”
It was that kindness that led to her being in the pit at the St. Louis rock festival Pointfest on May 16. As Shelton tells PEOPLE, Uskiwich — a high school administrator who frequently babysat her own niece and nephews — was in the pit comforting a young fan who was struggling with the loud music when she was accidentally kicked in the head by a crowd surfer.
Uskiwich had been complaining about headaches before she attended the show, Shelton tells PEOPLE, but didn’t think they were indicative of anything serious. But after the concert, Uskiwich’s headaches worsened; she eventually went to the emergency room, where scans identified a brain bleed. From there, Uskiwich’s condition declined quickly, Shelton tells PEOPLE, as her cousin suffered a series of strokes…