Tree-Sitter Injured in Fall at Stadium Grove

A protester in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium fell about 30 feet from a supply line between two trees Sunday night, breaking his right wrist and right leg, his father said.

Nathaniel Hill, 24, who has participated in the protest intermittently since January, fell while swinging from the line at about 8:30 p.m. while trying to climb out of the tree to meet his father, who was waiting on the ground near the grove.

“We had a brief conversation and he was excited to come down ... then something gave way, and he fell like a rock,” said his father, Karel Hill. “I had an incredulous feeling when I saw him drop. I couldn’t envision something like this happening. He learned well how to climb and taught others how to do it.”

Hill remained conscious after the fall and had pain in his wrist, lower back, ankle and lip, said UCPD Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya. The Berkeley Fire Department medical staff transported Hill to Highland Hospital in Oakland.

Hospital staff said Hill is expected to recover from his injuries in about three months, according to his father. Hill plans to return to the protest if it is still ongoing when he has recovered.

Protesters have lived in the grove since Dec. 2 in an effort to prevent the construction of a student athletic center on the site, which would require the removal of 26 coast live oak trees.

Three groups, including the city of Berkeley, have sued the university over its planned renovation of Memorial Stadium and construction of an athletic center. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller is expected to issue a ruling in the case by the end of the year, but could rule as early as this week.

Karel Hill and protest leader Zachary RunningWolf said the fall could have been indirectly caused by campus officials’ treatment of the protesters.

“It’s a systemic problem of the UCPD hassling us and keeping us up at night,” RunningWolf said. “We’ve also had to extend ropes across two fences.”

Campus officials erected a fence around the grove at the beginning of this year’s football season and another last week after a judge ruled that the protesters were violating the law and must come down from the trees.

Another protester broke both her wrists after falling from a tree earlier this year, Celaya said, and returned to the grove about a month later with casts on her arms.

Tags: