Kavan Markwood is speaking out about his frightening fall some four-and-a-half months later.
Markwood is the Pittsburgh Pirates fan who fell 21 feet from the Clemente Wall in right field last April. The incident occurred during a Pirates game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa.
In reaction to a clutch hit by Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen, Markwood tumbled from his seat above the wall down to the dirt field below. Viral video shot at the time showed the exact moment that Markwood fell.
Markwood, who was later identified as a former college football player, spoke out about the incident this week. He gave an interview to “Inside Edition”, saying that he wasn’t sure how he survived.
“I don’t know how I’m alive,” Markwood said, per Scripps News. “I wake up with pain every day. My arm, I can’t feel my two fingers still. [But] I’m doing better than what I was, that’s for sure.
“I just hope everyone knows that I fell and I didn’t jump over the railing,” added Markwood. “It was just a tragic accident.”
Markwood also said in the interview that he suffered extensive injuries, namely, a broken back, a broken neck, a punctured lung, and every rib broken.
Several weeks after the incident, Markwood’s friend Ethan Kirkwood, who was at the game with him, was charged with multiple counts of providing alcohol to a minor in connection with the incident (as Markwood was only 20 at the time). But Markwood said in the interview with “Inside Edition” this week that the fall had nothing to do with alcohol and instead was simply an accident.
