A milk crate hurled from a 15th-floor balcony at Parthenon Towers on Sept. 19, 2025, left two people hurt on the sidewalk below and neighbors rattled in a busy stretch of Midtown. Police later arrested a 53-year-old man after tying surveillance footage and court documents to the falling crate.
Surveillance and court filings
Court documents and security video reviewed by WKRN show a man walking out of a room on the building's 15th floor with a milk crate, then returning without it. The filings state the crate was filled with clothing and vomit and that it plummeted to the sidewalk, striking people below. Investigators later matched a suspect to the person seen in the footage, according to the documents.
Where it happened
The episode unfolded at Parthenon Towers, a 15-story apartment complex at 301 28th Ave. North, according to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. The high-rise sits directly across from Centennial Park and the Parthenon museum at 2500 West End Ave, placing the incident in a heavily trafficked, pedestrian-heavy pocket of the city where a falling object can turn a routine walk into a trip to the hospital in a heartbeat.
Charges and booking
Public filings identify the suspect as 53-year-old Michael Flye. He was booked on two felony counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, along with misdemeanor counts for assaulting an officer and resisting arrest, according to the WKRN report. Bond was set at $75,000. Police say detectives later spotted Flye wearing the same clothing seen on surveillance and observed him coming and going from the 15th-floor apartment in the days after the crate fell.
A familiar public-safety worry
Objects tossed from rooftops and balconies have raised red flags in Nashville before. High-profile moments such as the April 2024 arrest of Morgan Wallen after an allegation that he threw a chair from a rooftop bar reignited talk about rooftop safety and enforcement, as reported by WSMV. Incidents like these are a reminder of how quickly gravity and a bad decision can put unsuspecting bystanders in danger in entertainment districts and park-adjacent corridors.
Legal implications
Under Tennessee law, reckless endangerment carried out "with a deadly weapon" is treated as a Class E felony, a designation spelled out in state code and cited in the court filings. The offense is described in Justia. The charges against Flye remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The case is pending in Davidson County, with Flye in custody on the set bond while it moves through the criminal court system. We will continue to track court records and filings for upcoming hearing dates and any developments.
