MONTREAL, Que. — A 40-year-old man remained in hospital in serious but stable condition Saturday after falling from the stands at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium during a baseball game the night before, police said.
Montreal police spokesman Danny Richer said the victim fell 10 to 15 metres to the ground behind the perimeter fence at centre field.
Richer said it happened around 10:20 in the evening, toward the end of the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 preseason win over the New York Mets.
After interviewing witnesses at the scene, investigators said no criminal offences were committed.
"We were able to determine that it was accidental," Raphael Bergeron, another police spokesman, said Saturday.
The man, whose identity hasn’t been released, was rushed to hospital in critical condition with injuries Richer described as life-threatening.
Bergeron said later the man suffered serious injuries, including to his head, and remained in hospital Saturday in stable condition.
CTV news spoke to a witness who said the man was trying to rouse the crowd to do the wave when he got up on a railing, lost his balance and fell.
A crowd of 46,121 attended the game, which organizers hoped would spur interest in bringing major league baseball back to Montreal.
Hall of Fame catcher and Expos great Gary Carter, who died of brain cancer in 2012, was honoured before the game.
More than 50,000 were expected to attend a second game Mets-Jays contest on Saturday afternoon.
Players and coaches from the 1994 Montreal Expos, which were the best team in baseball when the season was cut short due to a labour dispute, will be saluted in a ceremony prior to the opening pitch.
