Flyers fans tumble down escalator in scary postgame scene

Philadelphia Flyers fans were leaving Wells Fargo Center on Saturday after a happy afternoon – defeating the Ottawa Senators in a critical game for their playoff chances, with only a few games left in the NHL season. 

But that happiness turned to horror for some fans descending from the upper levels. An escalator inexplicably accelerated and sent dozens of fans tumbling to the ground and piling on top of one another.

Meghan McGreevy, a Flyers fan, captured video of the incident with her phone. Another Flyers fan named Tom sent the following to Broad Street Hockey, claiming he was on the escalator:

“We were all but at the top when it started to speed up. It felt as if it just ‘let go’ and it was a very fast, seemingly very long, ride to the bottom. Waiting at the bottom was a pile of fans to trip over and behind us were another group of fans waiting to collapse on top of us. Once at the bottom we were in the middle of a pile of fans with several people hurt including both of my parents. Me and my girlfriend frantically tried to get out of the way and help my parents and another older couple who seemed to get the worse of the fall. Once in first aid there were several people getting checked out.”

No serious injuries were reported.

Comcast Spectacor spokesman Ike Richman told NBC 10 that the escalator was shut down immediately after the malfunction was discovered, and that it was closed for a Philadelphia Sixers game over the weekend. 

On Monday, Wells Fargo Center announced that the escalator had been fixed.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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