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Pumpkin-roll smash leaves man critical
(by Barbara Christian - November 05, 2008)
Pumpkin-roll smash leaves man critical
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
This year's Chagrin Falls pumpkin roll on Halloween eve turned tragic for a Solon man who was struck by an unidentified pumpkin-sledding youth.
Chagrin Falls police said that Robert Bowen, 47, was talking to a police officer on Grove Hill when he was hit below his knees, flipped into the air and landed on his head and back. He was unconscious when the Chagrin Falls emergency medical squad arrived and transported him to Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights.
Mr. Bowen later was transferred to Metrohealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where his condition has been listed as critical. No one answered the telephone at Mr. Bowen's home Monday.
The person who hit Mr. Bowen has not been identified, police said. They said it's not unusual for adults to show up at the pumpkin roll as observers.
Police said the traditional but unsanctioned pumpkin roll got uglier after the injury and was abruptly halted. Officers had formed a cordon around Mr. Bowen to prevent him from being hit again.
Police Chief James Brosius said high school students yelled and threw things at officers, and the situation threatened to get out of control when the roll was stopped.
Five juveniles were charged with illegal dumping after police observed pumpkins being unloaded at the top of the hill on North Main Street. During that incident, police said, others attempted to obstruct the officer and were disruptive.
The arrested juveniles, all 17-year-olds, included one girl from South Russell, one girl from Chagrin Falls and three boys from Chagrin Falls. They are to face the charges in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.
Mr. Brosius said there have been attempts to stop the 40-year-old pumpkin-roll tradition, but getting tough antagonized the situation. "I was even called a Nazi," he said.
Unless there has been blatant lawbreaking, police have taken a non-confrontational approach during the pumpkin rolls, Mr. Brosius said. "The tactics we would have to use would be unacceptable in this instance," he said.
"You can make laws and build jails," but it doesn't work unless the community is supportive, he said.
"Accidents like this always have the likelihood of happening," Mr. Brosius said. "I was a kid once too, and I know we would go to any level of risk to have fun."
In the early years of the pumpkin roll, the participating youths secretively dumped the pumpkins and ran. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, someone got the idea to slide down the hill on the broken rinds, and accidents and minor injuries began to be part of the annual roll.
Some years, alcohol has been involved, and arrests have been made.
For all the problems, Mr. Brosius said, young and old alike have an emotional stake in continuing the annual escapade. "People in this town are very endeared to it, because it's a tradition," he said. "I am already getting calls from people worried this will endanger the ability to have the roll next year," he said of the accident.
The Chagrin Falls School District and police department send out a letter each year, reminding students and their parents that stealing pumpkins and dumping them on the hill are illegal activities.
Each year, those arrested at the roll bear the expense of the cleanup by village street crews.
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