Posted on 05/22/2008 4:07:18 PM PDT by kingattax
ATLANTA -- Alcohol was a factor in the death of a 25-year-old man who fell down a stairwell at Turner Field during a game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.
Justin Hayes of Cumming, Ga., suffered head injuries Wednesday night and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He fell about 150 feet from the club level to the landing on the field level during the eighth inning.
The investigation is "pointing toward drinking. Alcohol was a factor," said Atlanta police department spokesman Ronald Campbell on Thursday.
Campbell said Hayes may have been sliding down the handrails when he fell.
"We are still waiting for the police report to be completed," Campbell said. "We had officers working at the game."
Mark Guilbeau, the senior investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, said an autopsy will be performed.
The Braves issued a statement Thursday expressing sympathy for Hayes' family.
"The Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Police Department are investigating the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a 25-year old male fan at last night's game," the statement said. "Our sincerest and heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
Braves spokeswoman Beth Marshall said the team had no additional comment pending the investigation.
Turner Field, built for the 1996 Olympics, has been the Braves' home stadium since 1997. The Braves said it's the first nonmedical fatality at the stadium.
Earlier this season, a fan at Shea Stadium in New York was killed when he plunged four stories from an escalator during a game. According to media reports, witnesses said the man was perched on the escalator handrail when he lost his balance and fell.
You can’t fix stupid. Hold mah beer, watch this
Ahhh, there ya go. Too bad one of his buddies or all of them couldn’t have pulled him off the railings. Soooo very senseless and a young life snuffed out. Really hard to imagine and so sad. His whole life ahead of him all gone by one stupid, senseless act. (sigh)
That’s a shocker
Never having been to that stadium, I would wonder how this is possible. 150 ft. is what seven or eight stories? Was this a straight fall of that distance in a stair way?
Gravity - it's not just a good idea.
It's the law!
there but by the grace of God go I.
He went to the end of the handrail, and over the front balcony rail, wave, wave, shout, and splat.
Many years ago a very intoxicated Giants fan killed himself at Candlestick Park by falling from the upper deck after a night game. This resulted in the Giants stopping the sale of “hey beer” in the stands.
Drunk or not, I smell a lawsuit coming from the family for a kazillion dollars.
Prediction: They will settle for a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a new double wide.
Bet The a$$hole Turner banned smokers long ago though, because he doesn’t like it or the smell. Alcohol’s good for you, though, and after all, there’s a buck to be made. Moronic. Oh, well.
Your thoughts?
HELLO!!!!!!!!! Where is a good lawyer when you need him?
CORRECT! That is like some nightmare, you are going down a slide, and fall off a building!
But there's profit in alcohol sales, so....
Exactly. And like I’ve said, I don’t mind people drinking, and I love a glass of champagne every now and then (it’s the only thing that I drink). But, I’d rather be around a smoker than a drinker any day. A lady with whom I work buried her father-in-law yesterday from an accident with a 4th-time drunk driver. Her sister-in-law sustained brain damage and multiple fractures over her body. I am for total freedom and personal responsibility. But, maybe, just maybe, we should be HONEST and limit alochol use to the home just as what is increasingly happening with tobabacco. I’ve never had to worry about someone using a tobacco product getting behind the wheel or acting stupidly from intoxication. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to stop picking our own personal vices. But, hey, I really like to socialize with other like-minded adults, whether it’s with other men enjoying a cigar or adult beverage with one another. Am I as strange as I think I am?
Putting the dumb back in stadium. How high an IQ is necessary to know that selling beer in sports arenas is dangerous at best and outright lethal at worse. Hope the family ends up owning the whole kit & caboodle.
A good time to remind everyone that you should not drink if you plan to use gasoline to start your grill this Memorial Day.
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