07/21/2002

The Associated Press

SEATTLE - A man killed when he plunged from a railing at the new Seahawks Stadium was mentally ill, his family told police.

"He did not fall. He jumped," Seattle police spokeswoman Deanna Nolette said. "All indications are it was an intentional act done by a man with a history of mental problems.”

The man's identity had not been released. He was one of 19,000 people who attended an open house at the new $430 million stadium Saturday. Fans had been invited to tour the stadium on the site of the old Kingdome. The 67,000-seat facility was formally dedicated by Gov. Gary Locke and Seahawks owner Paul Allen on Friday, following two years of construction in which the team played at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium.

Several eyewitnesses reported that the man intentionally climbed over a chest-high barrier on a stadium ramp and jumped, falling 40 feet onto a concrete plaza.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday morning.