San Francisco Giants Fan in Coma After Being Attacked by L.A. Dodgers Fans
April 5, 2011 — -- An attack in the parking lot of the Los Angeles Dodgers' stadium left a baseball fan in a medically induced coma and police searching for the two men accused of throwing the punches.
Bryan Stow, a father of two and a Giants fan, road-tripped nearly 300 miles with friends from Santa Cruz, Calif. to Los Angeles to watch the San Francisco Giants play the Los Angeles Dodgers last Thursday.
The Dodgers beat Stow's beloved Giants.
On the way back to his car following the game, things took an ugly turn.
"The pathetic cowards hit him from behind," Jacqueline Kain, the ex-wife of Stow, said.
"Two guys came out of nowhere. Both of them pushed Bryan from behind, he never saw them coming and Bryan fell forward and hit his head on the concrete and was immediately knocked unconscious," David Collins, the victim's brother-in-law, said.
LAPD Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg told reporters that the victim was one of three Giants fans attacked in the parking lot by two men in Dodger garb. He said the attack was unprovoked.
The two kicked and punched the trio, shouting expletives about the Giants. They fled in a car with a 10-year-old boy, police said.
Los Angeles County officials, along with contributions from both baseball teams, are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the pair.
Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic, remains in a medically induced coma.
"Bryan spends his whole life, every day of his life, saving people's lives and now we are praying for his life," Collins said.
Some of Stow's fellow paramedics have come to be by his side in the hospital.
Doctors have removed part of his skull to reduce the swelling.
"They've made him miss his kids. Because of them, he's not able to be with his kids," Kain said.
Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt said that the attack had marred "an otherwise fantastic day."
On the day of the attack, 72 Dodgers fans were arrested.
Violence on sports sidelines is nothing new.
In 2004, a Boston Red Sox fan died after police hit the 21-year-old woman with a projectile they were using to disperse a violent crowd. The Red Sox had beaten the Yankees.
That same year, NBA player Ron Artest and eight other players were suspended from the league after a brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. What started as a fight between players ended with Artest attacking fans after a soft drink was thrown on him.
