Thursday, July 8, 2010
A fan fell 30 feet from the club-concourse level into the lower-level seating area at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Texas during the Texas Rangers’ home game against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the 5th inning with Nelson Cruz at bat for the Rangers. Cruz hit a foul ball into the crowd. The fan leaned over the railing to grab the ball and fell over the railing and into the crowd 30 feet below. Play was immediately stopped and suspended for 16 minutes. The man, whose identity has not been released, was conscious and could move all extremities. He was stabilized and taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
In a press conference following the game, team president Nolan Ryan told reporters that “He’s over at the emergency room having tests done. The preliminary indications are that it could have been a lot worse. We really don’t know at this point in time. I think that obviously he’ll remain in the hospital for observation. We’re hopeful that what injuries he has are minimal.”
Four other spectators, including a young boy, were treated for minor injuries at the scene.