TORONTO – A fan reportedly died in hospital after collapsing in the Rogers Centre stands and receiving CPR as he was carted off the field during the Toronto Blue Jays’ game against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.
Toronto police confirmed the death to CityNews.
#BREAKING: Man dies in hospital after collapsing during Jays game at Rogers Centre— CityNews Toronto (@CityNews) August 17, 2012
The unsettling scene took place during the bottom of the seventh inning, when a noticeable commotion was clearly visible in the seats right by the field along the left-field line just past third base.
Medical, security and stadium personnel all rushed to the area, where paramedics could be seen pumping on the man’s chest in an attempt to revive him.
Players from both dugouts watched it all unfold between pitches, with White Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis among those calling attention to the matter so the game could be paused.
“It was not a good sight. It was bad,” he said. “I could see the guy pumping on him, doing something where I just knew it was happening too long. I said something to Mark (Wegner, the third-base umpire) and finally I was like ‘We’ve got to stop this thing.'”
Play was interrupted for four minutes as a cart emerged from behind the left-field fence, the man was placed on a stretcher and hauled off, as a paramedic walking alongside the vehicle performed CPR. A hush came over the crowd of 19,855 as the severity of the man’s condition became apparent.
“I saw some medics jump out around the dugout and run over,” said Youkilis. “Then I saw a doctor or whoever was going, just pushing on the chest over and over and over. I thought maybe they were reviving him and then they next thing you know, they kept going and going. I was like ‘God, man. We’ve got to stop this thing,’ and luckily we did.”
There was no immediate word on what caused the man to collapse, and it’s the second time this season CPR has been performed on a fan in the Rogers Centre stands, the other coming June 29 against the Los Angeles Angels.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the person who was taken out of here tonight,” said Blue Jays manager John Farrell.
Blue Jays rookie Moises Sierra was at the plate when the CPR attempts first began, although at first he didn’t realize what was happening to his left.
“I was focused on my at-bat,” he said. “The third pitch, I looked and I saw.”
It was the same for White Sox pitcher Jesse Crain, who initially “didn’t know what was going on at all, I was locked into the situation.”
“I was told it was going on for a while and once Youk called timeout and they stopped the game I looked over there and I saw,” he continued. “You automatically start thinking of life, you put everything in perspective. At the beginning of that inning I’m fired up to get guys out and not that let that guy score and you see something like that it puts everything in perspective. It didn’t look good. I don’t know what ended up happening but I said a little prayer for him after everything started going again just to make myself feel better (because you have to play). You don’t ever want to see that. It’s definitely a first for me.”
