Shea Stadium Escalator Fall Victim in Critical Condition

The 26-year-old man who fell from a Shea Stadium escalator on Saturday night is still listed in critical condition. The Post reports that Justin Larson, a medical school student, is "breathing with the aid of a ventilator" at NY Hospital Queens, with broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and bruising on his brain. Mets officials and the NYPD are investigating the fall (after a man's fatal fall from the Shea escalators in April, a U.S. Product Safety Commission investigation was opened), but Larson's friends said he had been "goofing off" by sitting on the handrail of a non-working escalator. His parents are on their way from Missouri now.

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By Jen Chung in News on July 28, 2008 10:40 AM

Comments [rss]

average_commentator

Whoa, what's this, some dashing med student got hurt from a lapse of judgment? For a casual act of stupidity he's been injured disproportionately? Great, no hyperbole is too much of a stretch now! Even though I leave trite comments on news stories I'm still one better than this guy for not being in intensive care! I've seen it written on every online news story involving an accident in the last ten years, but I'll put down the "Darwin at work" comment just in case this news story is someone's first foray onto the internet--or, even better, someone thinks I started the whole trend.

But, just in case you think my edgy detachment keeps me from feeling, I'll get angry at the "victim" (huh, yeah, of STUPIDITY) because I believe without prompt that this'll be a lawsuit--in fact, fuck him if it becomes one, even though he'll still be in the hospital and won't even be the one initiating such an action.

Whatever, I hope he dies or is rendered less likely to reproduce because evolution works in such a way that freak accidents wipe out specific behaviors and in large enough quantities that this is good for mankind! Never mind that any death could be considered Darwinian and that someone could tell me with as much justification (more so, even) that any death from a disease that runs in my family is strengthening the gene pool and truly Darwin at work.

Oooh, almost forgot, escalators--that's Mitch Hedberg territory! Give me a bit to think of how to shimmy that into a post, maybe somebody will think that's mine too. (Besides, I deserve it, after all Mitch died of a drug overdose! I didn't die and am therefore much smarter than him.)

NannyState

Shea Stadium management is fully culpable because they didn't post a sign prominently that reads: "Do not perform Jackass stunts atop escalator".

The medical bills will be a terrible burden on the folks from back home in Missouri but it just shows that parents who raise their children to behave like fools can expect that late night phone call from far away...

chopp3r

"Also, what happens if the escalator gets stuck and you have a whole bunch of people pushing on your back...?"

It magically turns into a STAIRCASE.

aveB4life

babyhitler's first serious comment?

bornbrednewyorker

This has happened how many times at Shea? Quite a few. Doesn't that tell you something? Sure someone shouldn't be sliding down the escalator railing but the bigger question is why is anyone allowed on this non functioning escalator in the first place? The design is has and will always be flawed. You innocently tripped you could fall right over the side to your death. If the Mets are guilty of anything it's allowing people to walk down non functioning escalators and that can easily be avoided. Divert everyone to walk down the ramps.

fugothamist

he should sue the Mets for every penny they have

f*ck bloomberg

Spirit of 76

Common sense? Common sense says hundreds of thousands of people use those escalators every year and how many get hurt? Common sense would be to not do something that stupid on something high off the ground. That's common sense.

Kojak

Sometimes companies are responsible for the well being of individuals who have no common sense. One other example is that woman who fell through the gap on the LIRR station, and tried to walk to the other side and got hit by a train. Granted, she was drunk, but how liable is the LIRR for that accident, and how liable is the city & the Mets are for what happened here?

Perhaps they should have better protected not just the escalator, but also the walk ways going around Shea. In my opinion its the individual that holds the lion's share of the blame, but they should at least do something to help make it a little more difficult for idiots to hurt or kill themselves doing stupid shit.

handsomedevil

Yeah, the standard legal argument is "he was really drunk" (and thereby less responsible for his own actions.)

ed_Extinct

Goofing off is not a very strong defense and I doubt it will sway a jury.

babyhitler

it's not idiot proofing. it's common sense. Shea should have known better. Also, what happens if the escalator gets stuck and you have a whole bunch of people pushing on your back and someone falls from that? not smart shea.

Splicer

You can't make the world idiot-proof. Perhaps we should have fewer idiots.

babyhitler

on one hand this dude shouldn't have been doing that. On the other, those escalators are dangerous. I'm going to place the blame on shea cause too many people use those escalators. They should know better that this shit will happen. Just like the NY times should have known better to install those ladder rungs on their building so people could climb them.

MT

How much do you want to bet his family sues because he was behaving like a douche bag and got himself hurt?

spnder

Thank god that deathtrap is closing...

ides_of_march

Darwin's natural selection at work it seems.

Snoopy

"with broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and bruising on his brain." The last item was probably a precondition and should not be listed with the other injuries.

mocanlagunas

btw, what's the most stupid thing you've ever done?

Mine would be driving while sleepy.... no alcohol needed to do stupid things...

Don't recall anything else... always used a condom, that's for sure...

mocanlagunas

well, he fell doing stupid things, sorry for him... but the moment I hear lawsuit, f**k him...

Rfive

sorry he's in critical condition, but unless he was pushed, he's an asshole.

this coming from someone who did stupid things as of yesterday. at 35+...

agdthefan

I managed to make it through my 20's without subway surfing, escalator surfing, playing russian roulette or otherwise engaging in idiotic behavior guaranteed to injure me to embarrass my family. I'm guessing alcohol was involved, because nothing spurs on a twit with a bad idea like booze does.

Hopefully once he's totally fine, his parents will smack him in the head.

nomnomnom

I noticed Sunday that they had security block all the entrances on the escalators, where previously people would walk down them after the game ended. Not sure if this was going on previously or not, but it's the first time I recall seeing it.

robingee

26 is not a child.

schadenfreudian mensch

I guess he did. He's still alive and commenting in a coherent sentence on Gothamist.

navinjohnson

i guess you did everything perfectly when you were 26....

agdthefan

Do we really need to teach people how to use an escaltor? I feel badly for the kid but c'mon. An escaltor is not a roller coaster. If you can't handle the temptation of acting like a fool, take the stairs.