Man charged for giving alcohol to Pirates fan who fell from stands
A man now faces criminal charges for allegedly providing alcohol to an underage Pittsburgh Pirates fan who suffered major injuries after falling 21 feet from the stands during a Major League Baseball game at PNC Park last month.
The dramatic fall, captured on video, took place during the bottom of the seventh inning when Kavan Markwood, 20, tumbled over the railing in right field while celebrating Andrew McCutchen’s April 30 go-ahead double, USA TODAY previously reported..
His friend, Ethan H. Kirkwood, 21, was charged May 20 with two counts of furnishing liquor or malt beverage in connection to the incident, Allegheny County online criminal case records show.
Both men are from the city of McKeesport, a suburb about a 25-minute drive southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
A video circulating on social media after the fall shows Markwood sitting in the front row of seats before he tumbled over the top rail and fell to the dirt below.
The fall took place from one of the highest stretches of seats in the outfield − the tallest fence in the outfield is right field at 21 feet, per the Pirates, in honor of Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, who wore the number and manned right field.
Hospitalized after the accident, in a May 7 interview Markwood told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he had ‘broken everything.’
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Did the Pittsburgh Pirate fan who fell survive?
Markwood was a 2022 graduate of South Allegheny High School, according to a South Allegheny School District spokesperson.
‘I can’t really sleep,’ he told TribLive.com. ‘I have a lot of back pain.”
According to an online fundraiser created by his girlfriend’s mom, Jennifer Phillip, she wrote Markwood broke his neck, clavicle, and back.
‘But he’s showing real strength, and we’re staying hopeful for a smooth recovery,’ Phillip wrote on the fundraising page on May 6.
As of May 21, the page had raised more than $67,000 to help Markwood.
The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety previously reported the fall was ‘being treated as accidental.’
Friend charged for giving beer to fan who fell due in court in June
Kirkwood was not listed online as an inmate at the Allegheny County Jail on May 21.
It was not immediately known whether he had obtained legal counsel.
Kirkwood is slated to appear before a magistrate in District Court for a preliminary hearing on the charge on June 23, his case records show.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealu
