Friend charged by police after 20-year-old fan’s horror plunge at MLB game

A 21-year-old friend of the 20-year-old man who fell six metres from the stands during a Pittsburgh Pirates MLB game in April has been charged with giving him alcohol.

Ethan Kirkwood was charged with two counts of furnishing alcohol to someone under 21 for allegedly buying beer for Kavan Markwood before Markwood plunged from the stands, according to a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday.

The complaint, written by Officer Timothy Zundel of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, states that Kirkwood admitted he purchased beer for Markwood, who is one birthday shy of being the legal age to consume alcohol.

The document does not allege alcohol consumption caused Markwood’s fall. Kirkwood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kirkwood, the complaint stated, is seen on video purchasing three rounds of beer, each time holding two cans of the beverage.

The high school acquaintances were with two women at the game, the complaint states, one of whom is Markwood’s girlfriend.

She told Pittsburgh police after the fall that her boyfriend had two of the beers during the game, according to the complaint.

After Markwood fell, the women were seen on video scrambling to find Kirkwood, who subsequently handed a can to one of them before it was thrown in the bin, the complaint stated.

Kirkwood then jumped over a railing and rushed to the field “to help his friend”, the complaint said.

Court records show Kirkwood pleaded guilty to charges of public drunkenness and the purchase of alcohol by a minor twice each for incidents in 2022 and 2023.

Tuesday’s criminal complaint alleges “defendant’s reputation for criminal activity” bolsters its credibility.

Markwood fell over the Roberto Clemente Wall after Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen produced a two-run double to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead and final score in the seventh inning.

The fall was followed by stunned silence amid the more than 11,000 people at the park as players took a knee and Markwood appeared motionless on the field.

He was rushed to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition, before his condition improved.

On May 5, Markwood’s sister Taryn thanked first responders, hospital personnel and well-wishers who she said helped buoy the man’s spirits and that of his family.

She reported that breathing tubes were removed, a development that signals a patient is breathing on their own.

“I’m incredibly thankful to share that Kav is making remarkable progress,” Taryn Markwood said at the time.

Markwood himself spoke out two days later, telling the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he had “broken everything,” had back pain and was unable to sleep but was otherwise “all right.”

Markwood and Kirkwood are each listed as players for South Allegheny High School’s football team during the 2021-2022 season.

After Markwood’s fall, the South Allegheny School District said Markwood was a team MVP who graduated in 2022.

A preliminary hearing in the case against Kirkwood was scheduled for June 23.