Tragedy strikes during a match between Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics
A Rangers’ fan died while attending a match with his son between Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics on Thursday, July 7. He fell 20 feet to the ground as he attempted to catch a foul baseball.
"We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," team president Nolan Ryan said. "As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we're very heavy-hearted about this, and
our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
The mishap occurred in the second inning of the game when Conor Jackson of Oakland Athletics hit a foul ball that flew to left-field of the diamond. Though, Josh Hamilton of Texas Rangers retrieved but was unable to confirm the fate of the accident. The
local television kept on showing replays, which showed a man reaching for the ball before falling from the stands.
The man, who was later identified as Shannon Stone, was trying to catch a ball hit by Josh Hamilton, but unfortunately lost his balance in the fateful moment as per the Rangers and Arlington fire officials said.
This is the second accident at the ballpark in this season. A similar incident happened in the month of May, when a 27-year-old man died during the match played between Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. He fell down 20 feet with his head striking
on the concrete during the seventh inning of the game.
Though Shannon was unconscious after the fall but still he said, “Please check on my son. My son was up there by himself.” Though the people reassured him by saying, “Sir, we'll get your son, we'll make sure he's OK,"
Ziegler said, "He had his arms swinging. He talked and was conscious. We assumed he was okay. But when you find out he's not, it's just tough."
It heart-breaking to see that a fan goes to watch a game with his son and then the rest of the family discovers the father died during an accident, comes as a shocking news to everyone related to this game.
Former president George W. Bush was also seen in the match and was sitting in the front row with Ryan when the accident happened. Though Ryan left moments later, while Bush remained in his seat and was completely aware of what was happening.
The 39-year-old fire-fighter from Brownwood, about 150 miles southwest of Arlington, died at a hospital on Thursday night. Stone was a serving as a lieutenant at the Brownwood Fire Department for about 18 years and was at the game with his young son, before
the tragedy struck.
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