46-Year-Old Man Found Dead in Mets' Citi Field After Falling from Staircase
August 22, 2021
A 46-year-old man attending a Dead & Company concert Friday at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, died after falling from a second-floor staircase.
Per NYPD detective Sophia Mason (h/t Liam Reilly and Alaa Elassar of CNN), police arrived on scene at 9:05 p.m. ET Friday and "observed EMS personnel attending to a 46-year-old male who was suffering from injuries consistent with a fall from an elevated position."
The man was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Numerous sources stated that the man was attempting a body flip.
“He attempted a body flip, fell, and landed on the balcony below,” a police source told Kerry Burke of the New York Daily News.
The man fell between 30 and 50 feet onto concrete below during the concert's intermission, per police and fan witness accounts to Joe Marino, Steven Vago, Jesse O'Neill and Tina Moore of the New York Post.
“He was unresponsive and he hit the ground head first. There was no way he survived,” a driver named Dan told the Post.
“We saw someone fall from this ledge,” Sean Egan, who attended the concert and was one level up, told the Post. “We see something fall and we heard him hit the ground.”
Per CNN, the man's identity has not been released as officials work to notify his family members.
The Mets, who are in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers, released a statement through spokesperson Harold Kaufman, per CNN.com: "We are aware of a tragic incident which sadly resulted in a fatality last night. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences go out to the attendee's loved ones."
Fans flocked to Citi Field to see a group "featuring the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chiment," per Mitchell Peters of Billboard. They are on a 31-date tour.