Ronald Lee Homer, 30, falls 60ft on to parking lot in third such accident at MLB stadium since August 2012
The mother of a man who died after falling 60ft from the upper deck of Turner Field on Monday night has said that her son was a life-long Atlanta Braves fan.
Connie Homer of Conyers, Georgia, said that her only son, 30-year-old Ronald Lee Homer Jr, told her in a cellphone call from the Braves' Monday night game against the Philadelphia Phillies that rain was starting to let up and he was preparing to go back in the stadium. She said he ended the call in his typical way, telling his mother he loved her. She said her son did landscape work outside Atlanta.
An Atlanta police spokesman, John Chafee, said there was no indication of foul play, and the fall appears to have been an accident. It was at least the third time a sports fan has fallen from the stadium in Atlanta in about a year. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday identified the man and said an autopsy was planned.
Homer fell more than 60ft (18m), on to a parking lot. Witnesses described it as an accident. He died of his injuries at a local hospital. Chafee said he did not know if wet conditions or alcohol were factors in the incident. Heavy rains had led to a nearly two-hour delay of the game.
A Braves spokeswoman declined comment Monday night, referring calls to the Atlanta police.
It was not the first fall at the stadium to result in death. In May 2008, a 25-year-old man suffered head injuries when he fell down a stairwell during a game; he later died. Police found that alcohol had factored into that accident, which the Braves had said was the first non-medical fatality to happen at the ballpark. In August 2012, a 20-year-old man died after falling over a railing during a football game. Authorities said he landed on another man seated in the lower level and that alcohol was a factor. The next month, a man fell about 25ft (7.6m) over a staircase railing at a football game; he was not seriously injured.
