An Arizona high school graduate is pursuing legal action after a rooftop jump at a crowded senior skip‑day party left him with a concussion and part of his ear torn off. The lawsuit names the homeowners where the party took place and contends the gathering, which drew dozens of teens, featured underage alcohol and was advertised for attendees to bring their own drinks.
The incident unfolded on April 13 at a home in the Ahwatukee neighborhood of Phoenix. The 18‑year‑old, a senior at Desert Vista High School identified in the complaint as Blake Barnes, climbed onto the residence’s roof and attempted a front flip into the backyard pool. Cellphone footage of the jump shows the teen in midair above a busy pool area before the landing.
A teenager is captured mid‑flip off a roof into a crowded backyard pool during a Phoenix senior skip‑day party, footage used in reporting about the alcohol‑fueled incident.
Though Barnes’ feet made contact with the water, his head struck the hard pool deck on impact. He was rendered unconscious and emergency responders evacuated him from the pool. “My guy actually hit his head on the pool deck and sustained a concussion, tore his ear off. Fire and EMT personnel responded. He was unconscious, floating lifeless in the pool,” Barnes’ attorney, Brian Foster, said in recounting the scene.
Barnes was transported to a hospital after the rescue. Tests conducted there measured his blood alcohol concentration at 0.114. The complaint lodged by Barnes maintains that the large gathering — estimated at between 100 and 150 people — was alcohol‑fueled and out of control, and that the party’s promotional material urged attendees to bring alcoholic beverages.
Two portrait photos published in coverage of the lawsuit related to the rooftop jump — a mugshot‑style image at left and a school portrait at right — shown here as part of reporting on the incident.
The lawsuit, filed on May 22, names Brandon and Megan Spencer as defendants and alleges they knew about the large gathering their son was hosting at their home. Foster said the owners of the house “knew or should have known” their son’s event had become a raging party and that alcohol was being supplied or permitted on the premises. “100 or 150 people who attended this raging senior ditch‑day party,” Foster said. “And in the written notification, he told everybody to bring your own alcohol.”
Foster addressed his client’s intoxication directly while placing responsibility on the homeowners for the conditions at the event. “Look, it’s certainly not a great fact that my client consumed alcohol and had a blood alcohol content. But the fact of the matter is the alcohol was provided at the host party at the home where he attended, and the owners of the home knew or should have known that their son was having this rager,” he said.
Barnes seeks compensation for current and future medical expenses stemming from the injuries he sustained, as well as damages for pain and suffering and emotional distress. Court filings set out those claims but do not specify a dollar amount in the documents reviewed. The homeowners have pushed back, saying the lawsuit omits significant information, though they declined to provide further details when asked. The case remains pending in civil court as the parties proceed through the claims and responses.