Father-to-Be Dies from Single Punch in Bar Fight
A father-to-be tragically lost his life after being struck once during a fight outside a bar in Arizona just weeks before his baby’s arrival, according to local authorities and news reports.
Thomas John “TJ” Pizzitola, 29, was discovered unconscious on the sidewalk outside a bar in Scottsdale around 2:15 a.m. on October 11, as per statements from the Scottsdale Police Department.
On that night, Pizzitola and two friends were asked to leave Patty’s First Avenue Lounge for being disruptive. However, one of his friends, who was also expecting a child, reportedly accidentally bumped into a woman, which led to a confrontation, as outlined in court records.
This led to a skirmish between their group and five suspects. During the chaos, Drew Meneses, 24, threw a punch that caused a fatal injury to Pizzitola’s brain, according to police reports.
“Mr. TJ was struck in the head and immediately collapsed to the ground,” police stated.
Pizzitola was quickly transported to a hospital, where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries.
The suspects involved include Julia Husser, 27; Christa Molina, 27; Tony Becker, 26; Mark Whitford, 23; and Meneses, who was arrested last Wednesday in relation to this deadly incident. Meneses faces charges of second-degree murder, while the others are charged with varying counts of assault.
A GoFundMe campaign indicated that Pizzitola and his wife, Chrisann, were anticipating their child’s birth in only a few weeks at the time of this tragic event.
Before the incident, Pizzitola had sent Chrisann a message expressing his pride in her, as local media reported. “I texted him to say I was home and he replied saying he wished I was there… but he was so proud that I was home taking care of the baby,” Krisan recounted.
She described a heart-wrenching moment: “At about 3:30 p.m., I found out his place had turned into an emergency room, and he dropped everything and ran down there in his pajamas.” Krisan reflected on his aspirations, sharing, “All he wanted was to be the best father and best husband ever.” But, sadly, he wasn’t finished with life yet.
In a bittersweet turn, Pizzitola’s family noted that he was able to save five lives through organ donation following his passing.
For Meneses, his account of the incident involved a claim of having had “a bad night.” He maintained that there was no malicious intent behind his actions.
Currently, he is being held on a $1 million bail, and as of Tuesday night, the GoFundMe for Chrisann and her children had already surpassed $76,000 of its $85,000 goal.
