The scene at the Texas Rangers Ballpark on Thursday night was devastating. Shannon Stone, an 18-year veteran of a local fire department, fell to his death right in front of his son as he reached for a foul ball tossed to him by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, reports
Gawker.
Stone’s fall was a 20-foot drop onto concrete. He was initially conscious as he was taken away on a stretcher, but ultimately did not survive. Right before his death he told EMTs, “Please check on my son. My son was up there by himself.”
This is not the ballpark’s first major accident. Just last July, another fan fell 30 feet while trying to catch a foul ball. He survived but sustained serious skill fractures.
Ranger team president Nolan Ryan, who was seated next to former president George W. Bush during the game, delivered a somber statement saying, “We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball.”
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