No charges for Sharks fan that knocked a 16-year-old brain tumor patient unconscious

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting South Bay prosecutors won’t file charges against a Sharks fan that knocked a 16-year-old brain tumor patient unconscious during a San Jose-Vancouver game in late December.

Maggie Herger, a Bay Area Canucks fan, was hit on the back of the head after celebrating a goal during Vancouver’s 3-2 overtime victory on Dec. 28, allegedly by an intoxicated female Sharks fan sitting directly behind her.

More, from the Mercury News:

Officials said they did not find sufficient evidence to prove the drunken woman behind Herger hit her on purpose. Herger’s sister, who was sitting next to her, heard the fan tell an usher that she had brought her hands down on Herger’s head accidentally in celebration of a Sharks goal.

Because everyone in the section was standing and cheering with their eyes trained on the ice during the celebration, no one else actually saw the woman hit Herger. Even Maggie, whose back was turned to the woman, didn’t witness it, though the teenager said she had been verbally harassed by the Sharks fan because of her Canucks shirt.

As she was being loaded into the ambulance, more Sharks fans yelled at the girl, including one who screamed at her to “suck it up.”

Herger’s mother, Jaynie, said the family incurred several medical bills related to the incident, including a $1,300 charge for the ambulance ride, and still don’t know the identity of the woman that hit her daughter. Jaynie also stated the family was disappointed to hear Santa Clara County assistant district attorney David Howe wouldn’t be pressing charges.

“Our hearts go out to the young woman and her family,” Howe said in a statement. “No fan should worry about their safety at a sporting event. However, the evidence is insufficient to establish who committed the act that resulted in the teen’s injury and whether that act was intentional or accidental.”

(Photo courtesy CTV BC)