Canucks Fiancee Dies In Car Crash

((HT: Global TV BC/Vancouver Sun- Kelly Sinoski and Elliott Pap))

Carly Bragnalo always knew she would marry her high school sweetheart, Taylor Pyatt.

That dream was to come true this summer with a simple but elegant wedding on an island in the middle of Lake Superior. The couple had been together 11 years, since Bragnalo was 16.

"She was head over heels for Taylor," said Bragnalo's cousin, Angi Lupia. "Ever since they met each other, he was the one."

Instead of a wedding, Pyatt is reportedly heading to Jamaica to bring his fiancee's body home.
Bragnalo, 27, ((pictured, thanks globaltv/Facebook)) had been holidaying for a few weeks at her uncle's home in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, with her family and friends, when she was killed in a car crash Thursday. Her mother was also seriously injured and is in stable condition in hospital, according to Jamaican police. They were set to come home Friday.

Jamaican Constabulary Deputy Supt. Nadine Wallace-Martin said Bragnalo and five others were heading from Black River to Treasure Beach, a three hour drive from Kingston, when the crash occurred.

The Toyota Corolla they were in spun out of control on a curve, Wallace-Martin said, and struck a concrete lamp pole before flipping over. The injured were rushed to Black River Hospital, where two people remain in serious but stable condition. Bragnalo didn't make it.

When he heard the news, Pyatt left the Canucks to head home to Thunder Bay. He was believed to be heading to Jamaica with Bragnalo's father and other family members.

"Everyone's gone to Jamaica right now," Lupia said.

Family and friends described Bragnalo as a beautiful, giving person who lit up a room. Although quiet, she had a strong presence.

"She was a very different girl," her cousin Bev Sgambelluri said. "She wasn't an extrovert, but she just lit up a room. She didn't have to say much, you were just glad to know her. She had a great aura."

She said that Bragnalo, who grew up in Thunder Bay, was close to her family and was excited about her wedding to the Canucks forward. It was to be a simple wedding, since it would be impossible to invite all Pyatt's teammates and Bragnalo's family, not to mention their friends.
News of her death spread quickly, with hundreds of tributes and condolences sent to the social networking site Facebook, and posted on websites like the vancouversun.com.

"She was a beautiful person inside and out," said Lupia, who grew up with Bragnalo in Thunder Bay. "People were drawn to her presence. She was a happy girl."

When Pyatt was skating for the Buffalo Sabres, Bragnalo would come up often to Canada to visit her family, Lupia said. She would also go to Jamaica at least once, sometimes twice, a year. The rest of the time, she loved to shop, hang out, or travel to Pyatt's hockey games. Having been with him when he made it to the NHL, she was already part of the hockey scene.

"She loved just travelling with him," Lupia said. "As far as I know, everyone loved her."

Pyatt's family declined to comment, but issued a statement saying they were "deeply saddened by this tragic loss". They requested time to grieve in private.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement the Canucks "lost a member of our family" when Bragnalo died.

"Carly was a lovely and generous young woman who shared her spirit for life with our players, their spouses and their extended families," Gillis said. "We will support the Bragnalo family, Taylor and his entire family in any way we can during this very difficult time."

This is the second tragedy to strike the Canuck family within the last year. Defenceman Luc Bourdon died on May 29, when his motorcycle crashed near his New Brunswick home.

Reaction from the locker room comes from TSN's Farhan Lalji...