Two down, bottom
of the 11th

Were the Expos experience ever this exciting, Montreal might still have an MLB franchise. But in baseball and stupidity, we once again are outdone by the Americans, who repackaged the Expos as the Washington Nationals, then introduced open-top double-decker buses to transport fans to the ballpark. Add an overpass and it’s not just balls being knocked up and away, as two fans found out when the wind in their hair was suddenly replaced with a face full of concrete.

According to D.C. police, the bus was headed for the Nationals/Astros game, when “some of the young men on the top deck stood up.” Whether they were intoxicated isn’t yet known, but as the bus passed under the 11th Street overpass, the two didn’t quite make the clearance. The bus rolled to a halt outside a Marine barracks, and Marines rushed to help with what witnesses describe as being a “horrific scene.” Both men died of their injuries.

While a full inquiry has yet to be concluded, a city spokesperson says they might “rethink where we allow open-top double-decker buses to go.” An employee of Open Top Sightseeing, who organized the fan transportation, said the company was “absolutely, terribly, terribly, of course, devastated by this incident.”

by SCOTT SAXON