Jun 16, 2008 11:34 pm US/Pacific
Local Man Scores Victory For Paintball Safety
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
A local man who lost his wife in a paintball accident more than four years ago got a victory he never imagined.
"This message, as far as I was concerned, needed to come out from day one," said Mark Contois.
Day one was back in 2004, when Colette Contois died in her husband's arms. "It was really all about the promise I made to Colette that day, which was finding out what happened and then getting the message out to the world," he said.
The Contois family went out to play paintball while celebrating their son's birthday. The carbon dioxide canister on the gun malfunctioned, rocketing right toward Colette, killing her.
The same thing happened to a Washington teen.
Mark wants the world to know that any modifications to the canisters can kill. It's taken four-and-a-half years, but the world's largest paintball company is getting Mark's message out.
"The magnitude of the message far exceeds out expectations," Mark said.
Kee Action Sports posted a prominent warning on its website, linking to a flying paintball parks can print and post. The company bought full page ads in paintball magazines and is starting an exchange program that allows people to trade in potentially defective canisters.
Finally, there's a payoff for the man on a mission. "This isn't the end though, this is a great beginning to whatever the future holds," Mark said.
Mark emphasizes that he's not against the sport of paintball; he just wants the kids and adults who play it to know what his family didn't.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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