Bystander doctor controls bleeding of woman hit by broken bat

A pediatric intensive care doctor, with help from others in the stands, helped stabilize the woman until EMS crews arrived on scene

June 08, 2015 01:29 PM

By Gayle Fee
Boston Herald

BOSTON — A pediatric intensive care doctor from Arizona, who rushed to the aid of a woman seriously injured by a broken bat at Fenway Park last night, said fans in the stands stepped up to help the female fan who onlookers said was bleeding profusely and screaming in pain.

Dr. Marc Berg, a University of Arizona Hospital pediatric intensive care doctor, was watching the Red Sox-Oakland Athletics game a few rows behind the injured woman with his friend, Dr. Ulrik Christensen, a research physician. The two helped stabilize the woman in the stands until emergency medical services arrived to take her to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“This was not a two-man effort,” Berg told the Herald. “Every time I looked up, there were people helping. At one point I called for a rag to help stop the bleeding and a gentleman tore his T-shirt off and handed it in. Really, everyone came in ?to offer all they could. ?There were a lot of helping hands there.”

The woman, who was not immediately identified and was watching the game in the second row of seats with her husband and little son, suffered life-threatening injuries after she was struck in the face by a broken bat that flew into the stands on the third-base line. “We were sitting about six rows behind. The bat came into the crowd so fast,” Berg said. “It was clear to everyone there it was going to be serious.”

Berg said most of his efforts were attempts to control bleeding until rescue workers arrived.

“I primarily helped calm her down and helped stop the bleeding,” he said. “I sincerely hope she is going to be OK. As anyone could see from the pictures, it is potentially a very serious injury.”

Berg had praise for the Boston EMS rescue workers and the Fenway staff for their handling of the crisis.

“Fenway Park clearly had a well-developed system in place,” he said. “There was an EMS crew there with a gurney quite quickly and an ambulance ready to go. There was no delay whatsoever in moving her to a hospital where she clearly needed to go.”

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