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Mr. Met has never been convicted of manslaughter

Phillies Fan Taken to Hospital After Being Struck By Hot Dog Shot Into Crowd

By Des Bieler

(Washington Post) -- The Phillie Phanatic reportedly feels "terrible" about what happened, and with good reason. The green-furred mascot accidentally sent a woman to the hospital Monday, after he hit her in the face by shooting a hot dog into the crowd at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.

The victim, a Phillies fan named Kathy McVay, was checked for a concussion and emerged with painful facial injuries. "It just came out of nowhere. And hard," she said to ABC's Philadelphia affiliate about the duct tape-wrapped snack that came hurtling her way during a game against the Cardinals.

McVay was seated behind home plate when the Phanatic rolled onto the field on a mobile hot dog launcher, as he (it?) has been doing for over a decade. McVay would not relish what was about to happen.

"And then the next thing I know he shot it in our direction, and bam! It hit me like a ton of bricks. My glasses flew," she said.

McVay said she couldn't avoid being struck by the hot dog, let alone catch it, because of a shoulder injury that is set for a surgical procedure. 6ABC reported that her facial injuries require treatment with ice every 20 minutes and have her feeling very sore.

Coming up at 4:30 and 6 on Action News- hear from this Phillies fan injured by a hot dog fired from the Phanatic's hot dog cannon. The ⁦ @Phillies⁩ say the mascot feels terrible about it. pic.twitter.com/2kXlPAX6V3

— sarahbloomquist (@sarahbloomquist) June 20, 2018

"I have a small hematoma in my eye. And mostly, it's going to get worse before it gets better," McVay said. "It's going to go down the side of my face."

The Phillies have reached out to her to apologize and offer tickets to another game. She does not plan to bring any legal action, unlike a Royals fan who sued that team over a similar incident in 2009.

John Coomer suffered a detached retina after being pelted by a hot dog tossed by Slugerrr, the Royals' mascot, at a game in Kansas City. However, he lost two jury trials after having been judged to be at least partly responsible for not paying attention to what was happening on the field.

"I understand what happens within a game, during the course of action, with bats and balls," Coomer said in 2015 (via the Kansas City Star). "This has nothing to do with that."

McVay expressed a similar notion in offering others this advice about attending Phillies games: "Just to be aware, because you never know. I understand a baseball, but not a hot dog."

She also expressed an understanding of the potential humor to be found in her plight, despite her injuries. "It gives people a good laugh, and if that makes somebody chuckle, then that's fine," McVay said.

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