The Pittsburgh Pirates fan who plummeted 20 feet from the bleachers onto the field at PNC Park earlier this week has been identified.
Kavan Markwood, 21, from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, has been revealed as the man filmed taking a harrowing tumble over the railing at the Clemente Wall during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs, the South Allegheny School District confirmed to TribLive.
Markwood graduated from South Allegheny High School in western Pennsylvania in 2022 before going on to play football for Walsh University in Ohio and then enrolling at Wheeling University in West Virginia.
South Allegheny School District Superintendent David McDonald said that Markwood is “just a good, solid young man.”
“If there is somebody who going to be able to overcome this, it’s going to be Kavan Markwood because he’s a tough kid,” he told KDKA on Thursday. “He’s a fighter.”
McDonald said that while there had been some “positive signs” shared with him, the educator maintained: “He’s fighting for his life right now.”
Pittsburgh Police Department confirmed to The Independent that Markwood remained in critical condition Thursday after being transferred to the Allegheny General Hospital.
Witnesses told Triblive that Markwood was excited, taking off his shirt and pouring a beer on himself, moments before Pirates’ designated hitter Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead double.
Detectives from the Pittsburgh Police Violent Crime Unit are investigating the incident and Pittsburgh Public Safety said in an update Thursday that the fall is being treated as “accidental in nature.”
After Markwood’s fall, another fan jumped onto the field in an attempt to help and emergency medical personnel from both teams rushed to the scene as he was left motionless in the right field warning track.
Medical personnel tended to Markwood for about five minutes as visibly shaken players looked on as some knelt while others prayed in the aftermath of the harrowing incident.
The injured fan was eventually placed on a stretcher, carted off the field and sent to a local hospital in critical condition, officials said.
The game was delayed for about 10 minutes before play resumed in the bottom of the seventh inning, which saw the Pirates defeat the Cubs 4-3.
On Thursday, the Pirates said in a statement on X that it is “truly heartbroken after the terrible accident,” adding that “it was one of the most difficult moments many of us have ever experienced.”
In post-game remarks Wednesday, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he watched the incident unfold from about 350 feet away. “It’s extremely unfortunate. I mean, that’s an understatement,” he said.
McCutchen said that he hopes the injured fan makes a recovery.
“Truly hate what happened tonight,” McCutchen said on X. “Can’t help but think about that guy, his family and friends. I pray tonight for him. Let us think about his loved ones and hug our families a little tighter tonight. I hope he pulls thru. May God Bless you all. Good night.”
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