Solo Climbing Accident
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2002 9:34 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Southwest/12 ... index.html
Climber falls to his death
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- A man scaled partway up one of
Houston's best-known skyscrapers Monday, then jumped to his
death as a crowd watched, police said.
The man, using a small pick, had reached about the 30th floor of the
64-story Williams Tower when he plunged, said Jay Evans, a fire
department spokesman.
Police said they recovered a driver's license and a note containing a
message of a political nature. Authorities declined to reveal the
man's identity or details of the note, other than to say it did not
mention plans to jump.
The man had rosin to apply to his hands and used the pick on the
window molding as he moved higher, authorities said. But he
apparently did not have a harness, belt or suction cup, "the normal
professional equipment you'd normally see on someone trying to
climb a building," Evans said.
Police received the first call about the climber at 6:53 a.m., and
witnesses said he jumped from the 901-foot, black glass tower at
7:45 a.m. Evans said the man had somehow reached the outside of the
building from the 10th floor and then climbed up the southwest
corner from there.
Rescue personnel and a crowd of onlookers had gathered below,
television helicopters hovered above and motorists from the West
Loop freeway, the busiest in Texas, all had a view of the black-clad
man as he climbed and fell.
Police tried to talk to the man from an open window, but he
continued to ascend. Witness Pat McGarey, a tower worker, said the
man was yelling or singing and periodically waved his hands before
taking an extended pause.
"It clearly looked like he jumped as opposed to falling," McGarey
said.
The art deco-inspired skyscraper, formerly known as the Transco
Tower, was built in 1983. Famed architect Philip Johnson designed
it.
Climber falls to his death
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- A man scaled partway up one of
Houston's best-known skyscrapers Monday, then jumped to his
death as a crowd watched, police said.
The man, using a small pick, had reached about the 30th floor of the
64-story Williams Tower when he plunged, said Jay Evans, a fire
department spokesman.
Police said they recovered a driver's license and a note containing a
message of a political nature. Authorities declined to reveal the
man's identity or details of the note, other than to say it did not
mention plans to jump.
The man had rosin to apply to his hands and used the pick on the
window molding as he moved higher, authorities said. But he
apparently did not have a harness, belt or suction cup, "the normal
professional equipment you'd normally see on someone trying to
climb a building," Evans said.
Police received the first call about the climber at 6:53 a.m., and
witnesses said he jumped from the 901-foot, black glass tower at
7:45 a.m. Evans said the man had somehow reached the outside of the
building from the 10th floor and then climbed up the southwest
corner from there.
Rescue personnel and a crowd of onlookers had gathered below,
television helicopters hovered above and motorists from the West
Loop freeway, the busiest in Texas, all had a view of the black-clad
man as he climbed and fell.
Police tried to talk to the man from an open window, but he
continued to ascend. Witness Pat McGarey, a tower worker, said the
man was yelling or singing and periodically waved his hands before
taking an extended pause.
"It clearly looked like he jumped as opposed to falling," McGarey
said.
The art deco-inspired skyscraper, formerly known as the Transco
Tower, was built in 1983. Famed architect Philip Johnson designed
it.