Fan in 'grave condition' after falling from upper deck at Turner Field
A scary scene unfolded at Turner Field on Saturday when a fan fell from the upper deck and landed on the concrete seating area behind home plate during the seventh inning of the Atlanta Braves' game against the New York Yankees.
The incident prompted a hurried response from more than a half-dozen medical personnel, who performed CPR on the fan before shuttling him away from the blood-spattered seating area on a stretcher. The Braves confirmed that the fan was transported to a local hospital.
Shortly thereafter, police told reporters the fan is in "grave condition," while adding that they "are investigating the circumstances of the fall."
A witness said the fan was leaning over the railing of the fourth deck and suddenly tumbled over the edge, plummeting roughly 50 feet before landing on the concrete stairway by the third row of Section 202 on the stadium's lower level, according to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The fan appeared to make contact with the wires connected to the protective netting behind the home plate as he fell.
By the time the fan was taken away, most of the spectators sitting in that section had been cleared from the area.
The incident took place in front of 49,243 fans, the biggest crowd to pour into Turner Field this season. Moments before the fan fell, Alex Rodriguez was summoned to pinch hit for Yankees starter Luis Severino.
“We were sitting in Row 6 and I just told him to watch for A-Rod," Greg Shiver, a Tennessee native who attended the game with his son, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "And then we heard a big thud. I saw a guy falling from the top. I grabbed my son and ran for security. He was bleeding pretty badly. I don't think he's gonna make it. And I don't have any clue how he fell.”
Saturday's terrifying ordeal occurred just over two years after Ronald Lee Homer Jr., a 30-year-old Georgia native, fell 85 feet to his death from the fourth deck at Turner Field in what was ruled a suicide by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.