Man hurt at Camden Yards moves to rehab facility

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Maryland man hurt in a fight during a Baltimore Orioles game last month has moved to a rehab facility, and his lawyers said Monday they are looking for anyone who may have witnessed the exchange.

The family of 25-year-old Matthew Fortese, a doctor who treated him and his lawyers held a news conference Monday in Baltimore. The doctor said Fortese has moved to an in-patient rehabilitation facility and is working with physical, occupational and speech therapists.

Fortese's brother, Jimmy Fortese, said his brother is learning again how to talk. Jimmy Fortese said his brother is "starting to understand things a little more, starting to ask some more questions, starting to recognize some people more, but then in the next breath he could say something totally off the wall that makes no sense."

Police say Fortese was punched in the head and fell off a 5-foot wall onto a concrete walkway while attending a May 29 Orioles home game against the Washington Nationals.

Police say the episode began when a man threw beer on Fortese, who was with a date. Two men were ultimately charged with assault. Fortese was wearing a baseball cap of the Orioles' American League East Division rivals, the New York Yankees.

The family's lawyers — Erin Voss, Andrew Alperstein and E. Lynn Hoffman — asked anyone who may have witnessed the events leading up to the fight as well as the fight itself to call a tip line they've set up.

"We need help for this family. There were a lot of people that were in the stands. Those folks saw things, and we need to reach out to them. We need to hear from them," Alperstein said.

The tip line number is 410-605-2976.

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