A fan attending the Dead & Company’s concert on Friday (Aug. 20) at New York’s Citi Field has died after falling from the stadium’s balcony.
The concert-goer, described as a male in his mid-40s, reportedly fell from a second-floor staircase during intermission at around 9 p.m. at the Queens ballpark, which home to the New York Mets.
“Upon arrival, officers observed EMS personnel attending to a 46-year-old male who was suffering from injuries consistent with a fall from an elevated position,” Detective Sophia Mason, a spokeswoman for the NYPD, said in a statement to CNN.
The fan was later pronounced dead after being taken to the New York Presbyterian Hospital in Queens. His identity has not yet been released to the public. It was unclear at press time if the man’s death was accidental, police spokesman Hubert Reyes told CNN.
A police source told the Daily News that the concert-goer “attempted a body flip, fell, and landed on the balcony below.” A driver working at Citi Field supported that claim, telling The New York Post that he witnessed the fan fall after attempting to flip.
“He was unresponsive and he hit the ground head first. There was no way he survived,” the driver told the Post. “His brother came downstairs and found out he jumped. His brother was with him. He was crying.”
Billboard has reached out to the Dead & Company’s representatives for comment.
The group — featuring the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chiment — launched its 31-date summer tour on Aug. 16 at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Raleigh, N.C. The U.S. trek, which requires attendees to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test, concludes with a three-night stand at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl in late October.
