When you're out at the ballpark this baseball season, keep in mind that it's not all fun and games when you're watching in the stands. That's what Ellen Massey found out during Opening Day at Shea Stadium on Monday. It wasn't a bat or ball that caused her injuries, but a man that fell on top of her while she was sitting in her upper deck seats. It happened between innings of the game as Massey and her nephews were discussing Ryan Howard's home run. They felt beer land on them and then Massey had the unfortunate luck of having the unidentified man land on her head and neck. One of Massey's nephews thinks that the man was drunk. There were no apologies by the other fan, as he just scurried away. For her troubles, Massey has a cracked vertebrae and is scheduled for surgery on Friday.
Following the initial impact, Massey said she was unable to breathe and after regaining her breath, she could feel pain in her lower back. Luckily for her, she was attended by two off-duty EMTs in front of her in the stands before Shea Stadium medics came to her aide. Like a true fan, Massey constantly asked for updates after she was taken from the game. As she found out later, the Mets won, 11-5.
We hope that Ms. Massey's surgery goes well on Friday and that they find the coward that fell on her. Maybe he will come forward and apologize, but we guess that he was too drunk to remember.
As an aside, while at the Mets game last night, we heard some rather unsavory language from a hot dog vendor. On a slow day, despite children nearby, he was hawking his wares by saying things like "Taste my hot sausage!" and "Put it in your mouth!" This prompted one vendor to call him crazy while another said he would get fired.
Photo of Ellen Massey enjoying Monday's game prior to getting crushed
