A 36-year-old man who was descending a Shea Stadium escalator fell to his death. Antonio Narainasami fell onto the concrete floor, in the section near the left field stands, and fell at least two stories, possibly four stories (the Times says 30 feet).
While police and Mets officials say the father of two, whose daughters witnessed the fall, was perhaps riding on the escalator's railing, his cousin said they had been walking down a non-working escalator, "He lost his footing somehow and then he went over the railing." Police and relatives also say Narainasami was, per the Daily News, "not intoxicated or engaging in horseplay when he fell."
Besides his daughters, the heating and air-conditioning installer and local cricket club captain leaves behind a pregnant wife. His cousin, who called him the "best guy I've ever known" said Narainasami had been "real excited" for the game "because this is his favorite team." The Mets extended their "deepest and heartfelt condolences" to the family and said, "The Mets, the City Parks Department and the New York Police Department are investigating the incident."
In 1985, another fan fatally fell 100 feet from a Shea escalator while a man fell 90 feet to his death from a Yankee Stadium escalator. In both cases, the Post reported, they "were sitting on the railings of escalators." More recently, a few people were injured when a Giants Stadium escalator malfunctioned.
Photograph of Shea Stadium escalator from the Bridge & Tunnel Club
