Man fall to death from parking garage

[ggeen]

If someone else already posted this one, I apologize but I did not see it in a quick look.

I caught this on myfoxdfw.com this morning. Apparently a photographer was taking a picture of the Dallas sky line from the third level of a parking garage next the AAC. He fell from the platform and struck his head and later died.

Condolences to the family and I hope he wasn't one of ours.

Man Falls to Death from Parking Garage

[groovyone]

Ouch. Anyone know them?

[Todd Lambert]

Damn. I've shot from that same spot before. No clue how he could have fallen though.

Probably going to make it near impossible to shoot skylines from places like that though (as if it wasn't tough enough already!)

[zachary]

Wow, thats really sad. It could happen to any of us though. I know I leaned over the railing to get a picture when I was at Niagara falls.

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by Todd Lambert

Damn. I've shot from that same spot before. No clue how he could have fallen though.

Probably going to make it near impossible to shoot skylines from places like that though (as if it wasn't tough enough already!)

Says he climbed a fence into a secure (not secure enough, obviously) area. And the area from which he fell had no railing.

[kenw]

if it was a fenced/secured area, why would it need a railing? That's probably one reason there WAS a fence: to keep people out. Lots of high places don't have railings. They don't need them: they're reasonably secure. If you deliberately negate/disable those safety features, you have to accept the consequences dire as they may be.

This just an awful event, a true avoidable accident. No doubt it will be made worse over time for everyone involved and even those not involved. So sad, much too young.

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by kenw

if it was a fenced/secured area, why would it need a railing? That's probably one reason there WAS a fence: to keep people out.

Exactly my point. The photographer broke the law and took his chances and made a mistake.

[Todd Lambert]

Yep, he was definitely outside the limits of "correct". That said, I've shot from there, and many other places where I wasn't supposed to be.

You do what you want and you take the chances that you're willing to take. If it goes bad, you accept that it was your decision alone that got you there in the first place.

That's why I don't feel too bad for this gent as he made the decision. It's a horrible scenario but one that he chose to put himself into.

[SCone]

Nice thought, but it will be his family that bring the lawsuit.

[Todd Lambert]

Originally Posted by SCone

Nice thought, but it will be his family that bring the lawsuit.

Yep, exactly. Which is why more and more places are just banning photography altogether. Why would the business risk anything, for what?

It sucks. I wish lawsuits were just thrown out, if the person was violating the law like this. Then maybe the rest of us who are violating the law, wouldn't have such a hard time doing so.

[ggeen]

If the family decides to sue, they better get their case on the dockets soon. Texas passed a loser pays tort reform bill, HB 274, and Governor Rick Perry signed it into law. It is effective 1 September 2011.

Whether the property owner did enough to deter such actions is not for me to decide unless I get picked for the jury pool. It sounds like either the property owner or the property management company made an attempt to secure the area.

Lastly, I agree that the young man made his decision but that does not preclude me from regretting the loss that his family and friends are now likely feeling. Twenty-six is much too young. The guy was just a pup.

[andyz]

It says the garage is near the W Hotel. That is enough to get my attentions after reading this. Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business | Statesman.com

While I like the idea of getting the shot, I like the idea of going home too. And I don't mean "home" but the cause of my property taxes. Why would people take this risk?

[Todd Lambert]

Each person has their "comfort zone".

Some need to be on a motorcycle cutting through traffic at 120mph in order to get their rush. Others feel fine by riding a bicycle over a small bridge.

I have my own boundaries of what I'll do for a shot. You have yours as does everyone else. These lines vary quite a bit sometimes. In this case, I don't think this guy was necessarily a daredevil; he was a in a pretty tame location and something horrible just happened to happen to him while he was there. It's not much different than if a bus accidentally jumped a curb and killed him while shooting on the sidewalk.

There are others who actually go waaaay out there for their shots... and you know what, they're pretty epic shots. Some that cannot be replicated, duplicated or dismissed. Check out this guys work: No Promise Of Safety

Totally blows your mind. Totally illegal too. But, I'm glad that people like that exist. They're what make this world interesting.

God Speed Gary Ray Gribble... I hope that your'e still shooting somewhere. 8-)