Disaster At Wrigley

Cubs fan dies after falling over railing at Wrigley: 'He was a great guy, everyone loved him'

Richard E. Garrity is survived by his wife, 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

Rosemary Regina Sobol and Tony BriscoeContact ReportersChicago Tribune

A Wheaton man died a day after falling over a railing and hitting his head while
leaving Wrigley Field after Tuesday night's game, officials said.

Richard E. Garrity, 42, was pronounced dead at 3:33 p.m. Wednesday at
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.  Garrity was taken by private ambulance to the hospital, police
 said.

The Cubs said in a statement that Garrity fell as he was leaving the ballpark
around 11 p.m.  The game had ended around 10:20 p.m.

"The thoughts and prayers of our entire organization are with his family
during this difficult time," the Cubs statement said.

Garrity, a marketing manager for Heineken, had attended the Cubs game
against the Cincinnati Reds as a work outing with colleagues and his wife,
 according to his father, Richard Garrity Sr.

“He was a great guy, everyone loved him,” Garrity said of his son, who loved
golfing and gardening. “When he walked in a room, there were no strangers.”

He said his son was a lifelong Cubs fan.

The elder Garrity said he spoke with his son during the game because he was
babysitting the couple’s 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

Relatives didn’t have many details about the circumstances of Garrity’s death.
 His wife wasn’t with him and had tried to call him after the game, his father
 said.  She learned he had been taken to the hospital.

A graduate of Arizona State University, Garrity Jr. had also worked for Chicago
 Beverage Systems, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was born in Aurora and
 lived in the 2300 block of Embden Lane, according to the medical examiner's
office.

An autopsy was slated for Thursday.