Troubling history of man 'who bought beers for 20-year-old Pirates fan' before near-death plunge
Ethan Kirkwood, 21, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly buying alcohol for his 20-year-old friend, Kavan Markwood, a college football player who was left critically injured after falling 21 feet from the bleachers to the warning track during a Pirates game last month.
Markwood continues to recover from a broken neck, back and collarbone, as well as a traumatic brain injury, while Kirkwood faces misdemeanor charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 23.
Kirkwood has admitted to buying alcohol for Markwood at the game, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh. Surveillance video from PNC Park shows Kirkwood buying two 24-ounce beers before another video minutes later shows Kirkwood and Markwood together, each with one beer.
His previous arrests were reported Wednesday by the US Sun and corroborated by Daily Mail with the help of Lexis Nexis and various internet reports.
In 2022, when Kirkwood was a minor, he pleaded guilty to public drunkenness and purchasing alcohol for another minor before being arrested and admitting to the same charges again in 2023.
Markwood, 20, went tumbling over the wall and crashing onto the field in a horrifying moment
This year, Kirkwood has faced several traffic violations, such as a reckless driving charge in Allegheny County. He has since pleaded guilty to careless driving and paid a $327 fine.
He was also picked up for operating a vehicle without a valid inspection but managed to beat that charge.
Meanwhile, Allegheny General Hospital chief medical officer Dr. Allan Philp has issued positive reports on Markwood's recovery.
"I'm happy to say that he's progressed well; he's at a point now where he's off the breathing machine, he's out of the intensive care unit, and is preparing to move on to the next step, which will be physical therapy, rehab," he told WTAE.
Footage from the Pirates-Chicago Cubs game shows Kirkwood jumping up and down in the front row of the right-field stands when he somehow ends up topping over the railing and landing on the warning track.
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