Man Dies After Falling 65 Feet From Upper Deck at Atlanta Braves Game

The Fulton County Medical Examiner identified the man as Ronald Homer, 30.

ByABC News
August 13, 2013, 12:42 PM

Aug. 13, 2013— -- A Conyers, Ga., man's fatal fall from the upper deck of Atlanta's Turner Field marks what is believed to be the second accident-related death at the baseball stadium in five years.

The man, who the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office identified as Ronald Lee Homer, 30, fell 65 feet from the stadium's 400-level seating structure, landing behind air conditioning vents in the player's parking lot at 8:55 p.m. Monday, ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV reported.

Four witnesses told police they saw Homer fall from the fourth level, and that there were no other people around him when he fell, and no surveillance cameras on the scene, according to the police report.

Homer, whose mother said had "been a Braves fan forever," had been waiting out a rain delay for the game against the Philadelphia Phillies to begin.

"It didn't matter if they were winning or losing or what," Connie Homer told The Associated Press.

Emergency Medical Services arrived on the scene to find Homer "unconscious, unalert, not breathing." CPR was administered, and Homer was taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Atlanta Police Department's report.

"At this time, there is no indication of foul play, and the fall appears accidental," said Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos in a statement.

Fulton County Medical Examiner investigator Mark Guilbeau told ABCNews.com that while the autopsy for Homer was underway today, the toxicology tests to determine if any alcohol or drugs were in his system when he fell would not be available before the end of the week.

While investigators are still working to figure out if weather conditions or alcohol played a part in the accident, Homer was not the first to suffer a fatal fall at the Braves' stadium.

Justin Hayes, 25, of Cumming, Ga., fell from the upper deck to the concourse behind home plate at Turner Field in May 2008, WSB-TV reported. Police later found that alcohol had factored into the fall.

It is unclear if Hayes' family filed suit against the Braves.

Even though many sports stadiums will institute increased safety measures -- such as higher railings or safety netting -- after such accidents, it is difficult to control every fan's behavior, Alana Penza, program manager for the Institute for the Study of Sports Incidents at the University of Southern Mississippi, told ABCNews.com.

"Venues will look at what happened and analyze what can be done to prevent these kinds of incidents," she said. "But there's also the side of human action – not error. Accidents happen."

ABC News' calls to the Atlanta Braves were not immediately returned. The Liberty Media Corp., which owns the Braves, did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.

Homer's family declined to comment to ABCNews. com.