University of Utah police arrest suspect in water-bottle throwing incident

University of Utah police announced they have arrested and charged 18-year-old William Gardner on “a charge of assault, a Class A misdemeanor.”
Gardner, who is not a University of Utah student, is charged with “throwing a water bottle onto the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium that struck a member of the BYU cheerleading team during the Utah-BYU football game Nov. 9,” police say.
The Deseret News obtained video of BYU cheer coach Jocelyn Allan apparently being struck in the head by a water bottle thrown by a fan at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
A video shot by Cougar fan Jessica Hellewell captures a water bottle being thrown and striking a woman in the face. She collapses and a BYU cheerleader rushes to her aid, helping her to the ground as other Cougar cheer team members and police gather around her.
In a post on Instagram, Allan shared her experience, saying that she lost consciousness due to being hit by the water bottle.
“At the conclusion of tonight’s BYU/Utah game, a Utah fan in the table seats in the south endzone threw a water bottle and hit me directly in the head,” Allan wrote. “I lost consciousness but thankfully was lowered to the ground by one of my cheerleaders. Police are going over video footage to identify the seats that it came from (we have a pretty good idea). If you saw the incident, or have any info on the family who owns that particular box, please contact me. Thank you!”
Allan and the BYU cheer team were stationed on the southwest side of Rice-Eccles Stadium throughout the game and in the immediate aftermath of the Cougars’ rivalry game win.