Former Marine Seriously Injured After Saving Oakland Stadium Jumper
A former Marine has reportedly sustained serious injuries after trying to catch a woman who fell from the third deck of the Oakland Stadium after the Raiders’ 23-19 loss Sunday to the Tennessee Titans.
The Inquisitr reported Sunday night that an Oakland Raiders fan was in critical condition after jumping off the third deck of the O.co Coliseum, commonly known as the Oakland Coliseum. The report continued on to say that the woman, who is in her 20’s, reportedly went into section 301 of the stadium and got ready to jump off the edge.
“Fans about 60 feet below in the second concourse tried to convince her not to jump. According to Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, ‘She jumped anyhow, and one guy tried to catch her.’ Both were taken to the hospital and were reported to have suffered life-threatening injuries.”
Witnesses and reporters are crediting the Marine with saving the woman’s life. According to ABC News, Nelson stated that the “woman would have ‘most certainly’ died if the Marine from Stockton, a lifelong Raider’s fan, hadn’t lunged forward to catch her.”
When paramedics arrived on the scene, they found people in tears after witnessing the woman jump. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, paramedics initially believed that the woman fell on him, but according to witnesses, he actually jumped to try and save her. The report continued on to say that the man’s injuries weren’t critical, but were severe enough to keep him in the hospital overnight.
The former Marine, who is not being identified, is a 61 year old grandfather. He did get a chance to talk to investigators and said that he and a friend had been lingering near the flagpoles and Al Davis commemorative flame when he saw the commotion around the woman, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
According to the New York Daily News, Nelson said, “It’s sad and tragic. Your heart reaches out to both people, the woman who jumped and the man who very heroically tried to save her. You always wonder, ‘Why, why would you do that?'”
[image credit: BrokenSphere]
