Fan Seriously Hurt in Fall From Upper Level at Pittsburgh Arena
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
(TNS)
Oct. 27—A fan is in critical condition after falling Monday from the 200 level of PPG Paints Arena during the Penguins' game against the St. Louis Blues.
The incident happened after the Penguins scored their second goal 55 seconds into the first period of their 6-3 victory.
Fans said they saw the man in a Penguins jersey stumble down several stairs between sections 201 and 234 as he approached the bottom of the section before falling into and tumbling headfirst over the glass.
Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Jeff Abraham told the Post-Gazette the fan fell into the suite level and hit another person, who declined to be taken to the hospital. The fan then dropped another level into the walkway between the FNB Club and Section 122.
Pittsburgh EMS transported him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A pane of glass just to the right of the bottom of the stairs in the section was missing and taped off after the incident. About 10 seats were roped off in the first two rows of Section 234.
"He was just coming down the stairs, and then he lost balance," said Sam Dance, who was sitting near the top of Section 234. "At first, I thought he was just having a joke because it was relatively slow. But he missed two or three [steps] in a row where he looked unbalanced, and then all of a sudden he was on the glass, sort of balanced.
"For like half a second, it was sort of 'Is he going to go over or not?' It was a split second, and then he just [fell]."
The incident occurred about 7:15 p.m. after Anthony Mantha put the Penguins ahead 2-0 in the first minute of the game.
One fan close to where the man went over the glass told the Post-Gazette he "cartwheeled right over the railing."
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," the fan said.
The Penguins in a statement said the team and OVG Management Group, which manages PPG Paints Arena, are "closely monitoring the situation."
"Our concerns remain with the individual and his family at this time," the team said.
Image DescriptionThe view Monday from Section 234 at PPG Paints Arena, where a fan tumbled from into the section below.( King Jemison/Post-Gazette)
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said the team had just found out about the incident when speaking to reporters minutes after the game.
"[It] doesn't feel right to be talking about points when we hear something like that," Crosby said. "So obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with that person and their family, and hopefully they're OK."
Penguins coach Dan Muse also said his thoughts and prayers were with the fan and his family.
"[We] all come here for a sport and a game," Muse said. "Hear something like that, and that kind of puts everything else aside."
Fans said the man appeared to be unconscious after the fall as he was taken away on a stretcher.
"The horn went off and everybody was kind of cheering," said Mark Nitowski, who was sitting in the FNB Club area just behind where the man ultimately landed. "And then you out of the side of your eye saw something fall and just thinking that somebody dropped something. And then you heard a loud bang when he hit.
"You don't expect to see something like that at a hockey game, even though what happened at the Pirates game."
It's at least the second incident of a person falling from the stands at a Pittsburgh sporting event this year and comes just two days after a worker at Acrisure Stadium fell from the scoreboard Saturday night while preparing for Sunday's Steelers-Packers game
Kavan Markwood fell from the right field stands at PNC Park and onto the warning track during a Pirates-Chicago Cubs game April 30. He was hospitalized in critical condition, taking his first steps several days after the incident.
On Saturday, a worker at Acrisure Stadium was taken to the hospital in critical condition after he fell 50 feet from the main scoreboard at the south end zone. He suffered severe injuries, primarily to his lower extremities, Pittsburgh Public Safety said.
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