Latest news with #SouthAlleghenyHighSchool
CNN
06-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Fan who fell onto field at PNC Park during Pirates game takes first steps
The fan who fell onto the field at PNC Park less than a week ago, identified as Kavan Markwood, took his first steps on Monday since the incident, according to a post on a fundraiser set up by the mother of Markwood's girlfriend. Jennifer Phillips, who is the mother of Alonna Brown, said that Markwood's first steps since the fall 'definitely lifted everyone's spirits' but admitted that he 'still has a long way to go.' 'It's a slow slow process, but seeing him up and moving was a huge win,' Phillips wrote. 'He's dealing with a broken neck, clavicle, and back so there are plenty of obstacles ahead. But he's showing real strength, and we're staying hopeful for a smooth recovery. This will also require plenty of rest and following instructions from the great doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital.' The incident happened during the seventh inning in a game Wednesday between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. The 20-year-old fell from the right field wall onto the field and was listed in critical condition. Players from both teams could be seen kneeling down, while others put their hands on their heads in concern for Markwood. The fall is being treated as accidental, police have said. 'Thanks so much for all the love, support, and good vibes. It really means a lot as he keep giving his all to push forward. #KAVANSTRONG,' Phillips continued. The fundraiser organized to help assist with Markwood's medical bills has raised nearly $43,000 as of Tuesday morning. Markwood graduated from South Allegheny High School in 2022. The school, in a post sent to CNN, said he was the team MVP of the football team and earned first team All-Conference honors: 'Kavan is best known for his resilience, strength, and kindness. He is a friend to all – someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace.' Markwood played college football at Walsh University and Wheeling University.
CBS News
04-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Family of Pirates fan who fell over the right field wall at PNC Park say he's awake but has "a long road ahead."
The fan who fell over the Clemente Wall on Wednesday night during a Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs game at PNC Park is awake, alert, and able to speak, according to his family. On Saturday afternoon, the family of Kavan Markwood said, "As of this morning, Kavan is awake, alert, and able to speak. After everything he's been through since the accident on Wednesday night, this progress feels nothing short of miraculous. He still has a long road ahead of him, but today brought a moment of hope that we've all been holding onto." Update: Kavan Markwood, the fmr. college football player who fell from the top of the Clemente wall onto the warning track at PNC Park is 'awake alert, and able to speak.' That's according to Jennifer Phillips,the mom of Markwood's girlfriend &organizer of a GoFundMe page.@KDKA — Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) May 4, 2025 Markwood suffered a fractured skull as a result of the fall. Investigation into the fall during Wednesday's game continues While the exact cause of Markwood's fall remains unclear, there has been discussion that he may have been intoxicated and celebrating an RBI double from Andrew McCutchen when he fell. However, according to a Pirates spokesperson, Markwood showed no signs of intoxication at the time of the fall. The spokesperson went on to say that Markwood was in a group of four people and a look into credit card receipts at the park, one of the people in his group purchased alcoholic drinks legally four times. The Pirates believe that Markwood drank two beers over the course of the game. While one fan said Markwood appeared intoxicated, others said he was conversing naturally and did not exhibit any boisterous behavior. One fan told the club that Markwood stood up, excited about the play, and toppled over the wall. The Pirates say they do not believe Markwood showed any intoxicated behavior entering the park. The club prohibited two fans from entering Tuesday night for being drunk, but Markwood was not one of them. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is investigating the fall. "A lasting impact on the South Allegheny community." Markwood is a 2022 graduate of South Allegheny High School and the district, after learning of his fall, said that he "made a lasting impact on the South Allegheny community' during his time as a student. Markwood played football for the Gladiators and was named team MVP as a senior. He also took home all-conference honors. He went on to play football at Walsh University in Ohio before enrolling at Wheeling University in West Virginia. Kavan Markwood pulls on his gloves during a South Allegheny High School football game against Serra Catholic on Aug. 28, 2021 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. (Credit: Mike Darnay/Mon Valley Independent) "Kavan is best known for his resilience, strength, and kindness," the district spokesperson said. "He is a friend to all—someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace." "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," South Allegheny School District Superintendent David McDonald said. "He's a fighter." Police are treating the fall as "accidental in nature." The day after Markwood's fall, Pittsburgh Public Safety said they are treating the incident as an accident. Markwood fell more than 20 feet over the Clemente Wall onto the outfield warning track at PNC Park. Police, EMS, and trainers from both the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs immediately responded, and the game was paused. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 30: A fan is carted off the field after falling from the stands during the seventh inning of the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 30, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe Sargent / Getty Images Along with trainers and first responders, another fan jumped down from a lower section onto the field to help Markwood. Markwood was placed on a stretcher and carted off the field and taken to the hospital in critical condition.
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Pirates fan who fell over wall at Pittsburgh's PNC Park identified as young man who "made a lasting impact on the South Allegheny community"
Pirates fan who fell from 21-foot wall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh identified Pirates fan who fell from 21-foot wall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh identified Pirates fan who fell from 21-foot wall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh identified The Pirates fan who fell from the 21-foot Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh has been identified, as a community leader says he is "fighting for his life." Kavan Markwood, 20, was critically injured after he fell from the bleachers and landed on the warning track during Wednesday's Pirates-Cubs game, officials said. "There are some positive signs that were shared with me that he is responding to, but he's fighting for his life right now," South Allegheny School District Superintendent David McDonald told KDKA on Thursday. Kavan Markwood identified as fan who fell Markwood graduated from South Allegheny High School in 2022, a district spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. In a statement, the district spokesperson said Markwood "made a lasting impact on the South Allegheny community" while he was a student. Kavan Markwood pulls on his gloves during a South Allegheny High School football game against Serra Catholic on Aug. 28, 2021 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. (Credit: Mike Darnay/Mon Valley Independent) Markwood played football for the Gladiators and was named team MVP as a senior. He also took home all-conference honors. He went on to play football at Walsh University in Ohio before enrolling at Wheeling University in West Virginia. "Kavan is best known for his resilience, strength, and kindness," the district spokesperson said. "He is a friend to all—someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace." McDonald said 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 said. "He's a fighter. He's proven that for 21 years to get to the point where he is now, and we need to rally around Kavan." Fan in critical condition after accidental fall at PNC Park Pittsburgh Public Safety said in an update on Thursday that it is treating the fall as "accidental in nature." On Thursday, Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting released a statement that said, in part: "We are all deeply saddened and truly heartbroken after the terrible accident that occurred last night. It was one of the most difficult moments many of us have ever experienced." Markwood fell moments after the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday. Markwood was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment. He remained in critical condition on Thursday. A fan is carted off the field after falling from the stands during the seventh inning of the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 30, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe Sargent / Getty Images Sources told KDKA that Markwood, who was at the baseball game with his best friend and girlfriend, fractured his skull. Markwood's friend jumped onto the field from the stands after the fall. "Kavan is at a baseball game with some friends, rooting for the Bucs and having fun at a game with friends. (McCutchen) hits a double and he jumps up and he's excited, and a horrible thing happened," McDonald said. McDonald says Markwood had just gotten a job in insurance and was set to start taking certification classes. "He is really a success story from the standpoint of his mental toughness, his personal toughness," McDonald said. "But he's got a chipped front tooth and when he smiled at you, he had that mischievous smile that melted you."
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Injured Pirates fan Kavan Markwood known as resilient, kind. ‘He'll take this and fight hard'
Sometime Wednesday evening, South Allegheny High School athletic director Mike Crown saw that a fan had fallen out of the stands at that night's Pittsburgh Pirates game. When he got up Thursday morning, Crown was reading more about the incident before work, and that's when he saw the pictures and video. Advertisement 'When I saw the tattoo on the shoulder,' Crown said, 'I knew it was Kav.' It would be a few hours before officials confirmed that Kavan Markwood was the man who toppled over the railing at PNC Field and fell 21 feet onto the warning track below. Markwood was carted off the field and transported to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was said to be in critical condition. Crown didn't need official confirmation of Markwood's identity. He saw the tattoo, recognized another one of the people in the video with Markwood, and eventually got a clear enough look at Markwood's face. Crown knew it was the kid he'd coached in freshman football less than a decade ago. 'If I know Kavan and how he takes these things,' Crown said, 'he'll take this and fight hard and get through this whole situation.' Football was a passion for Markwood, and it became a strength. He was undersized as a freshman and sophomore, when Crown was the South Allegheny coach, but after a growth spurt, Markwood became a crucial part of the team as a junior and senior under head coach Frank Cortazzo III. He was an outside linebacker and running back, all-conference and team MVP as a senior, and he went on to play for Walsh University and Wheeling University, earning MEC Commissioner's Honor Roll at Wheeling in 2023. ⏳⏳⏳⏳ — Kavan Markwood🤘🏽🦍 (@KavanMarkwood) April 18, 2023 'Kavan is not only an outstanding athlete but an even more exceptional young man,' Cortazzo said in an email. 'His resilience, heart, and strength are truly unmatched.' South Allegheny spokesperson Laura Thompson confirmed that Markwood was a 2022 graduate of the high school and echoed the coaches' scouting reports. 'Kavan is best known for his resilience, strength, and kindness,' Thompson said. 'He is a friend to all — someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace.' Advertisement In Wednesday's seventh inning, Markwood was sitting with friends along the railing atop The Clemente Wall, which is the section of PNC Park's outfield fence beyond right field. The wall is 21 feet high, a nod to Pirates Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente, who wore the No. 21. When Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, video appears to show Markwood springing up, toppling over the railing, and somersaulting through the air before crashing onto the warning track below. TribLIVE, a Pittsburgh newspaper, reported that witnesses described that Markwood, 20, was growing excited that the Pirates were rallying 'and had taken off his shirt and poured beer on himself before McCutchen's at-bat.' The game stopped for several minutes as Pittsburgh EMS, as well as training staff for both the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs, treated Markwood on the field. Several players were clearly shaken, but the game was not suspended (the decision on whether to suspend a game under such circumstances is made by Major League Baseball in consultation with the teams and umpires on site). Pittsburgh Public Safety posted to X on Thursday, saying the incident was 'being treated as accidental in nature.' Asked how they came to that conclusion, a spokesperson said: 'Detectives reviewed all available video footage and conducted multiple interviews during their investigation into this incident. It has been determined to be accidental and I have no further information beyond that.' Pirates chairman Bob Nutting issued a statement thanking the first responders who treated Markwood. 'We are devastated,' Nutting said. 'Pirates baseball is a community, and our fans are like family. In times like these, we must come together, support one another, and keep him and his loved ones in our prayers.' Advertisement By the time he left for work on Thursday morning, Crown was similarly stunned to realize he knew the man who lay injured in the Pirates outfield. He not only knew his name, but he also knew his personality. 'He fought hard in everything he did,' Crown said. 'He worked hard. He had a lot of grit.' That's the part Crown kept coming back to when he talked about Markwood. 'He's a fighter,' Crown said. 'He's going to pull through it.'
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Fan who fell out of stands at Pirates-Cubs game identified
Fan who fell out of stands at Pirates-Cubs game identified Show Caption Hide Caption Fan falls from stands during Pittsburgh Pirates MLB game Pittsburgh police said a man was in critical condition after falling from the outfield stands during the seventh inning of an MLB game. The fan who fell out of the right field stands and onto the warning track during the April 30 Pirates-Cubs game in Pittsburgh has been identified as Kavan Markwood. A South Allegheny School District spokesperson told both the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and The Athletic that Markwood, a 2022 graduate of South Allegheny High School, was the fan who fell. "Everyone at South Allegheny would say he is a hardworking, highly resilient young man. He's a fighter. He's going to need that resiliency now. But he has it," Laura Thomson told the Tribune-Review. "He's touched a lot of lives at South Allegheny. We're a small community. He's a household name here. Everyone knows him. "He has the prayers and the support of the South Allegheny community." Pittsburgh Public Safety said on the morning of May 1 that Markwood "remains in critical condition." "Pittsburgh Police do not anticipate providing any additional updates to the public," it added. Markwood was a standout football player at South Allegheny High School, which is located in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. He was on the rosters for the Walsh University football team in 2022 and Wheeling University football team in 2023. Both schools are Division II programs. His Wheeling bio says he appeared in five games for the Cardinals in 2023.
