John and Cindy Hayes, the parents of Justin Lee Hayes, the fan who fell to his death at Turner Field Wednesday night, released this statement Thursday:

Special (ENLARGE)

Justin Hayes, 25, of Cumming, suffered head injuries when he fell an estimated four levels inside Turner Field Wednesday. He was carried to a hospital but later died of his injuries.

More on ajc.com Fan 'didn't have alcohol problem' • Related photos

This was a tragic, horrible accident. Justin was a very strong Christian person, from a strong Christian family, who had never been in any trouble. He really cared about people and went out of his way to help anyone who needed it. We realize most parents will say that about their child, but that was honestly how he was.

According to his friends, he had a couple of beers like most people at a game, they were leaving and having fun, and he did what he does at home — tried to slide down the railing. Unfortunately, he just slipped over.

His brother who is a Sgt. in the Marine Corps, recently re-enlisted and will be deployed to Iraq in a few months. They weren't in constant contact because Justin was a professional chef so their professions were quite different, but luckily they talked to each other yesterday.

We ask the media to respect our son's memory and portray the final news about his life in a positive manner which is how he lived his brief 25 years with us.