By Ed Payne and Dave Alsup
ATLANTA (CNN) — A Georgia man died after he fell about 65 feet from an upper level of Atlanta’s Turner Field during a Braves-Phillies baseball game Monday, officials said.
He was identified as Ronald Homer, 29, of Conyers, Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office investigator James Bartlett said Tuesday.
Homer fell shortly before 8:55 p.m. during a rain delay in the game and landed in a secured parking lot, police said. Atlanta police said the fall appeared to be accidental and added it was too early to tell if alcohol played a factor.
Homer’s mother, Connie Homer, told CNN affiliate WXIA Tuesday morning that he was a big Braves fan who was attending the game with a friend.
“I’m just sick,” she said. “We’re a very close family. He was big-hearted.”
An investigation is underway, and police have questioned those who saw what happened. An autopsy was being conducted Tuesday morning, Bartlett said.
The game was scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., but heavy rains pushed back the start time nearly two hours.
It’s the second such death at an Atlanta sporting venue in the last year.
On August 31, a Tennessee fan died after falling about 45 feet at the Georgia Dome during a college football game between North Carolina State and Tennessee.
In July 2011, a Texas fan died after falling 20 feet at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, while trying to catch a ball thrown to him by outfielder Josh Hamilton.
CNN’s Devon Sayers contributed to this report.
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