Man Falls to Death Off Escalator at Texans' Game (UPDATE: ID'd As Jonathan Kelly, 25)

By Richard Connelly Fri., Aug. 31 2012 at 7:00 AM

Categories: Spaced City

Accident at Reliant.

A man fell from one of Reliant Stadium's large escalators and died during Thursday night's Texans-Vikings exhibition game, various media outlets say.

The identity of the victim has not been released, but CBS Houston says says the 45-year-old man "fell to his death while horse-playing on an escalator at the Coca-Cola Gate."

CBS Houston also reported that "sources say the man had been under the influence of alcohol," although that is not being reported by other outlets at this time. KPRC reports the man was "trying to slide down an escalator at 8 p.m." when the accident happened.

Reliant Park officials confirmed that an incident had occurred involving a fan and an escalator and that the fan in question had been taken to a hospital. Houston police said they are investigating an accident, but will not say if it involves a fatality.

The Texans were playing the Minnesota Vikings in the final preseason game of the year, generally considered a meaningless match played mostly by rookies or those making one last effort to get on the team.

Update: The Houston Chronicle reports the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has identified the victim as Jonathan Kelly, 25, of Houston. That info is not available from the HCIFS Web site, and we have a call in to the agency to confirm.

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