3 Hurt as Ducks Fan Falls
by Gregg Sarra
Staff Writer
A Merrick man suffered serious head injuries at a Long Island Ducks game last night when he fell head-first out of the upper deck at EAB Park in Central Islip as a crowd of 5,954 looked on in shock.
The man, 40, had been leaning over a railing trying to catch a T-shirt that had been shot out of an air cannon into the stands by Ducks employees. He landed first on a metal railing, which bent under the impact, then hit the seats with the top of his head.
He was taken by helicopter to the trauma center at University Hospital and Medical Center at Stony Brook, where he was in stable condition, a hospital spokesman said.
When the man fell into the crowd beneath him, he injured a woman, 23, and an 8-year-old boy, who were not related. Both were transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. None of the injured people's names were available last night.
The man had leaned over the rail in Luxury Box 305, trying to reach the shirt, which was just out of his reach. He lost his balance and spun around, reaching behind him for the railing. He missed the railing and fell over backward, plunging 20 feet to the deck below.
He tried to get to his feet but fell back down. He was bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth.
The horrific accident caught the eye of fans throughout the stadium.
"That was the sickest thing I've ever seen," said Ed Erickson, who was in the luxury box with the man. "He just flipped over the rail and fell. It all looked like slow motion, as if it were surreal. We were all in shock. We're just praying that he's OK." The man, whose name was not released by the hospital, had opened his eyes and was moving his fingers before he was evacuated in a Suffolk County police helicopter.
"He landed face down right in front of me, and I ran straight to the EMT station," said Ducks employee Scott Birsner. "His leg appeared to hit one of the younger fans on the way down." Added Bill Fitzgerald, who sat in Section 203: "The man landed just behind us; it was terrible." The game was delayed briefly, but play continued.