Sports is supposed to be an escape, or a distraction, from real life, and an opportunity for bonding to take place between friends, family, and the public.

For one family, a day at the ballpark had fatal consequences. Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter, fell to his death while trying to catch a ball thrown to him by Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton on Thursday night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

What makes the tragedy even worse was who Stone was seated next to after he fell from the left field bleachers: his six-year-old son, Cooper.

In one of the most tragic events at a sporting even in recent memory, Stone plunged 20 feet, and died from blunt force trauma to the head.

The Rangers were playing the Oakland A's that day, and Brad Ziegler, an Oakland reliever, said he saw Stone fall, and said Stone was conscious but was bleeding from the head and appeared to have a broken arm.

Though fans falling from the stands has happened before, such a consequence is not common.

Take a look at the video to see how it happened..