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Police investigating death of Arizona State alum who fell to his death at Wrigley Field

Posted at 11:28 AM, May 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-18 14:34:16-04

Chicago police are investigating the death of a 42-year-old Arizona State alum who fell over a railing at Wrigley Field.

Richard E. Garrity of Wheaton, a marketing manager for Heineken, was pronounced dead Wednesday at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Authorities say Garrity fell and suffered head trauma as he was leaving the ballpark after Tuesday night’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.

Garrity earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and business from ASU, according to his LinkedIn page. He was a sales supervisor and brand manager with Chicago Beverage Systems before joining Heineken in 2006.

"He was a great guy, everyone loved him. When he walked in a room, there were no strangers," Garrity's father, Richard Garrity Sr., who was watching his son's 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son during the game, told the Chicago Tribune.

Garrity's wife wasn't at the game with him and learned after the game that he had been taken to the hospital, Garrity's father told the Tribune.

A native of Aurora, Illinois, Garrity was a lifelong Cubs fan, his father said.

Cubs spokesman Julian Green said Thursday the team doesn’t know how far Garrity fell, but it wasn’t from the upper deck. Spokesmen for the Chicago police and fire departments also said they didn’t have information on where or how Garrity fell.

Garrity’s father said his son had been attending a work outing with his wife and co-workers.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.