PITTSBURGH — After a 21-foot fall onto the warning track at PNC Park, Kavan Markwod now has injuries to his skull, brain, spine, both ribs and even his lungs.
Kavan’s sister said she was able to speak to her brother, but could tell he had a traumatic brain injury.
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“The minute I heard he could lift a finger, I was relieved,” said Markwood’s Aunt, Juliette Och. She is a nurse at Allegheny General. She saw the video of her nephew’s fall and recognized the severity of his injuries.
Dr. Allan Philp Jr., Chief Medical Officer at AGH, said, “From that height, a large number of those people don’t survive, much less progress to the point where they can get out of the hospital and into rehab so quickly.”
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An investigation by the Pirates found Markwood consumed two alcoholic drinks during the game and a guest he was with legally bought seven drinks.
His sister said it’s been tough seeing what people are saying about her brother.
“He’s a good person, and for people to judge him by an accident…it’s messed up,” said Taryn Markwood, who is Kavan’s sister.
She addressed the judgment from people on social media and offered a little insight into their family’s past.
“He’s a young kid. He’s only 20 and we obviously don’t have the kind of support people have with parents. So it’s really us and we’ve been doing good for 10 years straight,” said Markwood.
Markwood will now move to a rehab center for both his physical and cognitive injuries.
“He had injuries to multiple parts of his body, like I said, but the one that will be most critical is the brain injury rehab,” said Dr. Philp
We still don’t know how or if this incident will impact the fan experience at PNC Park in the future. The Pirates found the railing where Markwood fell is over the legal height required, at 36 inches high.
It’s also not clear if the pirates will face any lawsuit as a result of this fall.
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