Mother says man who fell at stadium was trying to sit on rail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The mother of a 22-year-old man critically injured after falling more than 40 feet out of Bank of America stadium told Eyewitness News her son was trying to sit on a railing to take a photograph.

Sean Michael Powers was injured Saturday night after falling from the fourth-floor ramp just before kickoff at the ACC Championship Game.

Powers drove up from Tallahassee with several friends to watch the game. They were headed to their seats in the upper deck, walking up the fourth-floor ramp, when Powers stepped up on the railing to snap a picture of the crowds below.

"And instead of his bottom landing on the rail it seems he lost his balance and went over completely," said his mother Kristen Powers Evers.

Evers arrived Sunday morning in Charlotte and said she hadn't left her son's hospital room all day.

She said it'd be too difficult to leave her son's room for an on-camera interview, so she spoke with Eyewitness News by phone.

"He loved to play his guitar and sing with his friends," she said. "Really an all-around good guy. Loved his friends, loved his family and brothers even more."

Sean suffered a traumatic head injury after falling more than 40 feet. He's in critical condition but his vital signs are stable.

Evers said her son called her shortly before he entered the stadium. She said it's every parent’s worst nightmare.

"Lots of love and support from friends and family. Lots of grief, lots of disbelief. Shock. And pain," she said.

Officials said the fall is the first of its kind at Bank of America Stadium, but dangerous and deadly falls happen periodically at sports stadiums around the nation.

In August, a man died after falling 60 feet from an escalator at a Houston Texans game.

Also in August, a 20-year-old man died after falling from the upper deck at the Georgia Dome.

In July 2011, a father died after falling 20 feet onto concrete at a Texas Rangers baseball game. After that incident, stadium officials raised the height of railings in the ballpark.

"I think it's the worst nightmare for family, friends, and anyone who this could happen to," Evers said.

Eyewitness News reached out to the stadium's director of operations and the facility manager to see if they'll study this incident and consider safety changes. They did not respond Sunday.

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