Another Upper Deck Accident Underscores Safety Debate

Paul Steinbach Headshot

The death last week of Shannon Stone, a Texas firefighter who fell 20 feet in pursuit of a souvenir baseball, brought solemn urgency to other sports venues. The near tragedy that took place last night in Phoenix during the MLB All Star Game Home Run Derby adds a new facet to the debate - countertops that often abut railings in a stadium's specialty seating and socializing areas.

fanfall.jpgfanfall.jpgKeith Carmickle stood on an upper deck countertop at Chase Field and missed catching a home run ball by two feet, but the attempt sent him tumbling forward toward a likely headfirst dive onto a concrete pool deck some 20 feet below (more photos). A brother and a friend grabbed Carmickle by the limbs and eventually pulled him back to safety. Carmickle later admitted that while dangling momentarily from the wrong side of the railing he thought to himself, "I've lived a good life." His accident happened on the same day memorial services were held for Stone.

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