Fan dies after fall from upper deck at Turner Field

ATLANTA — A fan died after falling from the upper deck into the lowerlevel stands at Turner Field on Saturday night during a game between the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees.

Lt. Charles Hampton of the Atlanta Police Department homicide unit confirmed death hours after the fall in the seventh inning.

Hampton said the man was in his early 60s and was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital. There was no immediate word on his identity pending notification of his next of kin.

Hampton said police don’t suspect foul play at this point. He said no fans were hurt in the lower level seats where the man fell.

The man fell from section 401 and landed close to a 200-level area where players’ wives and families sit. There was blood on the concrete surface around the seats.

Stadium medical personnel treated the man for about 10 minutes, applying CPR. As they worked in a circle around the man, security officers cleared the area.

The fan was taken from the seating area on a backboard, and transported to the hospital.

Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius was standing on second base, following his double, when he saw the man fell.

“I was thinking about it the whole time,” Gregorius said. “All I can say is my condolences to the family. It was right in front of the camera in the press box. He hit the wires.”

The fall immediately followed the introduction of Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.

Major League Baseball said it had been in contract with the Braves and was monitoring the situation.

MLB has said this season that it is studying the issue of fan safety in the wake of several people being hurt by foul balls and flying bats. Some players have called for more protective netting around the field.

A fan died at Turner Field on Aug. 12, 2013, after falling 85 feet from a walkway on the fourth level of the stadium.

Investigators from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office later ruled that the death of Ronald Lee Homer Jr., 30, was a suicide.

Police said Homer, of Conyers, Georgia, landed in the players’ parking lot after a rain delay during a game between the Braves and Philadelphia.

Two fans died at major league games in 2011. In Texas, a man fell about 20 feet to the ground beyond the outfield fence trying to catch a baseball tossed his way by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

Shannon Stone, 39 and a firefighter in Brownwood, Texas, was attending the Rangers game with his young son.

Earlier that year, a 27-year-old man died after falling about 20 feet and striking his head on concrete during a Colorado Rockies home game. Witnesses told police the man was trying to slide down a staircase railing at Coors Field and lost his balance.

At Turner Field, a woman went to the Braves dugout and told catcher A.J. Pierzynski about what had occurred.

Some family members were escorted to a room near the Braves clubhouse. Many, including Atlanta outfielder Cameron Maybin’s son, were crying.