Pennsylvania man faces charges stemming from terrifying incident during Cubs, Pirates

During the April 30 game between the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, a 20-year-old man fell onto the warning track from atop the 23-foot-high right-field wall, resulting in injuries to his ribs, spine, skull and lungs.

Thankfully, that fan, 20-year-old Kavan Markwood, already seems to be on the road to recovery, less than a month after the horrifying incident that stopped play in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, the latest news stemming from the events of that night is police filing charges against 21-year-old Ethan Kirkwood.

Play between the Cubs, Pirates was stopped in the seventh inning at when the incident took place in a late April game at PNC Park

According toThe Athletic (subscription required), the charges include a pair of third-degree misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to an underage person. Kirkwood is scheduled to appear in court on June 23 for a preliminary hearing. You can find further details the events of that night, including what was found on PNC Park security footage that led to authorities filing the charges, here.

Also found in that piece is Kirkwood's track record with the law - which includes a pair of alcohol-related incidents, both public drunkenness cases from early 2023 that include charges for buying alcohol while under the age of 21.

Markwood still faces a long road to recovery. His friends and family set up a GoFundMe page to help with the associated medical costs - and as of May 21, it had raised nearly $68,000. Set up by the mother of his longtime girlfriend, this is what the page says about the fundraiser.

This fund raiser will help to assist with any medical bills and financial hardships that this family is experiencing right now. Kavan will have a dedicated account set up for the funds and this fundraiser is set up for him. Kavan will be the beneficiary of all donations and will have access to pay medical bills and pay bills for necessities while he will be off of work until he is released from the doctors and therapists .

Even though it has been nearly a month since the tragedy, donations continue in support of Markwood. For many Cubs fans, it has likely faded from memory - Chicago hasn't played the Pirates since that series and have had few reminders of the events of April 30. But with the Cubs poised to take on the Pirates at Wrigley in mid-June, we'll probably see more related to this story, especially with that series falling in the weeks leading up to Kirkwood's preliminary hearing later in the month.