Walbridge man knocked unconscious after Browns game is 'doing better'

11/9/2018

Josh Hillabrand with his cousin Brittany Rutkowski

CLEVELAND — The Browns were losing, and Josh Hillabrand’s family was ready to leave. But when they reached their motor home, Mr. Hillabrand wasn’t with them.

They assumed he had simply fallen behind the rest of them on his way out of the stadium, said Mr. Hillabrand’s brother, Greg. They’d wanted to beat the crowd and were eager to get on the road and back home to northwest Ohio.

“We were getting angry,” Greg Hillabrand said because they couldn’t find him and they wanted to leave.

A friend then called and said Mr. Hillabrand had been injured. According to a Cleveland police report, Mr. Hillabrand got into an argument with another man who punched Mr. Hillabrand, causing him to fall and hit his head on concrete and lose consciousness.

The incident happened Sunday. Mr. Hillabrand, 28, of Walbridge, was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center and was released Thursday.

“He’s doing better,” Greg Hillabrand said. “His head still hurts a lot.”

Greg Hillabrand said his brother told the family he was walking out of the stadium when he saw a group of people throwing traffic cones at others. He told them to stop, and they didn’t. Somehow, Greg Hillabrand said, the argument escalated and either his brother pushed or was pushed by one of the other people before someone hit him.

“Another guy with the guy he was talking to just sucker-punched him and knocked him out cold,” Greg Hillabrand said.

No arrests have been made, police said. Greg Hillabrand said his family hopes the police find the person responsible for Mr. Hillabrand’s injuries.