Those familiar with the O.co Coliseum in Oakland know the tarped-off upper section is a strange, cloud-enshrouded land where humans do not tread (because of lack of attendance or sight lines … I’m really not sure). But following the Raiders-Titans game on Sunday, one unidentified woman trespassed there, and actually flung herself off toward the pavement below — an estimated 45 to 50 feet.
But a Marine vet, also unidentified, happened to be walking below, and put his life on the line by trying to catch her. Because, U.S. Marines. San Francisco Chronicle:
The woman was knocked unconscious in the fall and her identity was not immediately known, said sheriff’s Sgt. J.D. Nelson. The woman was in critical condition at a local hospital, Nelson said.
The Good Samaritan who tried to break her fall was also being treated for serious injuries, he said.
“Raiders fans sometimes get a bad rap, but here was this guy who did an amazing, heroic thing to try to save this woman’s life,” Nelson said. “He did everything he could, including putting himself at great risk. There’s not a lot of people who would do that, and he did it.”
Nelson also said that, had it not been for the Marine, the woman would have surely died.
So the moral of the story here is, do not disparage Raiders fans in my presence ever again.