Neshannock baseball player doing well after freak accident

STAFF REPORT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A Neshannock High School baseball player who was injured during a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon is going to be OK, said the district superintendent.

Dr. Mary Todora said Thursday that she spoke to Joey Fontana’s father and he indicated that his son is going to be fine.

Joey, 17, is in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was flown by helicopter after Wednesday’s accident around 4:30 p.m. at Flaherty Field in New Castle on Cascade Street.

The hospital had no update on his condition later Thursday.

The New Castle fire department arrived to find him bleeding from the head and unconscious after he ran full speed to catch a ball and dove head-first into a steel panel in the wall at the field.

He had cuts on the right side of his head, was combative and was having seizures when the fire department arrived, the department reported.

Thursday morning, said Todora, his father reported that Joey had been examined by a neurosurgeon, and there is no internal bleeding or brain swelling.

The news is a relief to a district that is “so special. We’re a school family,” Todora said.

She said that everyone prayed Joey would be OK, and the coaches were in tears.

She said Joey is an excellent athlete and student. “It was just a freak accident,” she added.