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Fan dies after falling from upper deck during Braves-Yankees game

Posted at 4:00 AM, Aug 30, 2015
and last updated 2015-08-30 04:00:33-04

A man who fell from the upper deck of Atlanta’s Turner Field during the Braves-Yankees game has died, the Atlanta Braves said.

The man tumbled out of the stands during the seventh inning of the game Saturday night as the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez was walking to home plate.

Atlanta police are still trying to determine why the man fell, but said they do not suspect foul play. They said he is believed to be in his early 60s.

The man tumbled head over feet before hitting the concrete walkway in front of a row of fans. He hit some of the lines attached to the backstop as he fell.

Paramedics worked on him for several minutes before taking him off on an orange backboard, said CNN’s Southeast Bureau chief Marylynn Ryan, who was sitting a few sections from where the man landed.

The game continued as fans were escorted from the section where the man lay as a medic performed CPR.

Over the past few years, several people have died from falls at sporting arenas nationwide.

In 2013, a man committed suicide during a Braves-Phillies game when he jumpedabout 85 feet from an upper level at Turner Field.

In 2011, a 39-year-old man fell to his death while trying to catch a ball at a Texas Rangers game. He stuck out his glove and reached for the ball, but lost his balance and flipped over the railing of the outfield seats, crashing head-first into a scoreboard.

That same year, a man trying to slide down a railing at Coors Field at a Colorado Rockies game fell and died. An autopsy later found marijuana in his system, as well as a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit for driving.