Tragedy struck at Reliant Stadium when a man fell to his death from an escalator while attending a Houston Texans preseason game on Thursday night, as first reported by CBS Houston.
The unidentified 45-year-old was attending the NFL preseason game between the Texans and the visiting Minnesota Vikings when he fell from the escalator. Witnesses told KHOU that the man fell from the 600 level after 8 p.m.
According to Fox 26 in Houston, police said the man was attempting to slide down the railing of the escalator when he fell to his death. Homicide detectives were reportedly also on the scene.
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Officials at Reliant Park released a statement to The Associated Press confirming that a fan fell from an escaltor and was taken to a hospital. No further information on the fan's condition was initially given.
The Texans released a statement on their website:
"There has been an accident involving a patron falling from an escalator at Reliant Stadium this evening. The patron was transported to an area hospital. An investigation is ongoing."
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HOUSTON -- A fan has been taken to a Houston hospital after falling from an escalator at Reliant Stadium.
A statement issued by officials of Reliant Park, where the stadium is situated, says the fan fell from the escalator Thursday night while attending a preseason game between the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings.
The statement said nothing about the fan's condition, other than that he was taken to a Houston hospital.
Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said the incident happened at the north end of the stadium and that the fan's condition wasn't known.
In 2010, a firefighter attending a Texas Rangers game in Arlington died when he fell from the left field stands while reaching for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton.
Shannon Stone fell about 20 feet onto concrete when he tumbled over the left-field railing after catching the ball and falling into an area out of sight from the field as the Rangers faced Oakland. Cooper Stone, his 9-year-old son, witnessed the fall during the second inning.
This past April, a statue of Stone and his son was dedicated to Rangers fans in front of the home plate gate at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Railings also were raised throughout the ballpark before this season.
In July 2009 at Rangers Ballpark, a fan fell 30 feet from the second deck while trying to catch a foul ball. That fan, Tyler Morris, suffered a fractured skull and sprained ankle.
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