LOS ANGELES, CA — The family of a 47-year-old Dodgers fan beaten into a medically induced coma at Dodger Stadium Saturday is asking the community to help bring his attacker to justice..
Rafael Reyna’s family is also asking for help with medical bills for the father of four who suffered a fractured skull as the crowd was leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks early Saturday.
In the days since, Christel has been trying to piece together the details of the attack, which happened while she was on FaceTime with her husband.
She told NBC4 she was on Facetime with Rafael Reyna when she heard a woman yell “Why did you do that?” as a man approached her husband and cursed at him. Then she heard a crack and the screen went black.
Rafael Reyna was hospitalized at County/USC Medical Center for swelling and bleeding on the brain
Later in an interview with ABC7, Christel Reyna made a tearful plea for anyone who saw what happened to contact police.
“Somebody needs to come forward,” she said. “I know people saw it. I heard them.”
She and an adult son have been with her husband at the hospital, but Reyna said she has not told her younger children, ages 11 to 15.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Reyna at www.gofundme.com/dodger-stadium-attack-victim-on-life-support.
“He was the main source of income for our family and somehow someway we need to make it through this,” Christel wrote. “I anticipate some tough roads ahead of us, but we believe in the power of our Lord to heal him and carry our family through.”
As of Tuesday morning, hundreds had stepped up, donating more than $14,000 to the family.
Initially, Los Angeles police investigated the incident as an altercation but have now labeled it an assault. The suspect, who got away, is described as a man in his 20s who might have driven off in a white SUV, possibly a Toyota 4Runner, police said.
The Dodgers security team is working with police and the organization released the following statement Saturday:
“Last night, an altercation occurred suddenly between two men who were leaving the stadium,” the statement said. “One of the men was injured as a result of the altercation. A witness immediately reported the incident to stadium personnel, and emergency medical technicians were promptly dispatched to provide medical assistance at the scene. The matter is now being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Dodgers are cooperating fully with the investigation.”
In 2011, an attack outside Dodger Stadium left Bryan Stow of Santa Cruz severely brain-damaged.
“I can’t believe that it’s been eight years since it happened to me that it’s happening again,” Stow told Bay Area TV station KTVU. “I feel totally sad for him and his family and angry about the people that did this to him.”
The two men who attacked Stow pleaded guilty in 2014 and one, Lonnie Sanchez, was sentenced to eight years in prison while the other, Marvin Norwood, received a four-year sentence. The incident prompted increased security measures at the stadium.
Anyone with information on Saturday’s attack was asked to call the LAPD.
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
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