Injured Phish fan's condition upgraded
Police outside Jones Beach Theater after a man was seriously injured Wednesday night during a Phish concert at the Jones Beach amphitheater when he jumped over a railing, falling 25 feet to the lower seating area below, park police said. (Aug. 19, 2010) Credit: Jim Staubitser
Police said he jumped from a second-tier balcony during an intermission at the Phish concert in the Jones Beach amphitheater Wednesday night.
But though the 25-foot fall left a Maine man in critical condition, officials said he is now making a big recovery and his condition had been upgraded to satisfactory Friday.
A spokeswoman for Nassau University Medical Center said the man, whose name still has not been released, is out of the intensive care unit.
Police originally believed the man had fallen from the balcony, landing 25 to 30 feet below in another seating area. One concertgoer in that area suffered minor injuries.
But an investigation later revealed that the man jumped. Police have not said what led the man to do so - and his condition made it difficult to gain immediate information.
Police said EMTs and other emergency workers treated the man at the scene, then brought him outside to a helicopter landing area. He was airlifted from the Wantagh venue to NUMC in East Meadow.
"I couldn't believe it when I saw it," said State Park Police Sgt. Anthony Astacio, an 18-year park police veteran. "He's very lucky."
The concertgoer who suffered minor injuries was treated at the scene and remained at the amphitheater to see the rest of the concert, police said.
The concert was sold out, police said, but many people in the area where the man landed were elsewhere at that time, getting refreshments during the intermission.
No charges have been filed against the jumper, Astacio said, but the investigation will continue.
