A man fell from the Clemente Wall, about 21 feet high in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs.
The scary moment occurred just after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to give the home team a 4-3 lead. When the fan fell, players began frantically calling for medical staff and pointing at the man, who rushed onto the warning track.
The fan was attended to for approximately five minutes by medical teams from both teams, as well as PNC Park staff, before being removed from the field on a cart.
After the fall, the Pirates released a statement shortly after the end of the game indicating that the man was taken to Allegheny General Hospital. No further details were given about his condition.
A moment that shook PNC Park
Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell alerted the umpiring crew to the situation immediately after the play.
“Even though he was 106 yards away, or whatever, I mean how he fell and then lay motionless as the play unfolded; Craig saw it, I saw it. We both went out,” Shelton said at the end of the game. “I think the referees saw it by the way he kicked. It’s a shame. I’m short.”
Television cameras also caught players from both teams praying, while McCutchen held a cross around his neck as the fan was carried off the field. The game was stopped for several minutes while the man was being attended to, but no official interruption was necessary.
“I didn’t see anything happen, but I saw Counsell’s face when he came on the field, and I realized it was a very scary moment,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “We could only pray for a good, strong recovery for him and his family. I’ve never been through anything like that before and hopefully I won’t have to go through something like that again.”
He added: “It’s a humble reminder of the gratitude that we should all feel for playing this sport. People obviously come out to support us, and they’re one of the main reasons why we’re able to do what we do. Obviously, it’s difficult. In a moment like that, you want the fans to know that you love them”
This is not the first time such an accident has occurred:
In 2015, Gregory K. Murrey, an Atlanta Braves season ticket holder, fell over the railing from the upper deck at Turner Field. Four years earlier, Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his six-year-old son, fell from about 20 feet after trying to catch a foul ball at the former Texas Rangers stadium
Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of safety railings in stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves reached a settlement with Murrey’s family in a lawsuit.
With information from LAPRESSE
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