Man Dies Taking Photos at Chicago Hotel

Image: PHOTO: View from a LondonHouse Chicago Vista King Suite. (photo by Scott Laird)
Image: PHOTO: View from a LondonHouse Chicago Vista King Suite. (photo by Scott Laird)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 4:26 PM ET, Wed October 18, 2017

A man fell more than a dozen stories to his death from the LondonHouse Chicago hotel Monday.

The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time and was ruled an accident.

The Chicago Tribune identified the man as 44-year-old Eric Janssen, a vice president for the Sandusky Newspaper Group in Memphis, Tennessee.

Janssen was trespassing while taking photos on the 20th floor when he fell and struck a rooftop on the sixth story. Police said the avid traveler was visiting Chicago for Open House Chicago, an architectural tour offering behind-the-scenes access to hundreds of buildings throughout the city.

"Instantly being able to post pictures, I think that really captured his attention and his imagination and his passion," Janssen's sister, Cynthia Vukmer told the Tribune. "He died doing what he loved. He did that, I do believe he did that."

Janssen's friend said he was staying at a different hotel but was at the LondonHouse's top floor lounge Monday afternoon before stepping away to take photos.

One of Janssen's former colleagues said it was not uncommon for him to work from rooftops.

"He often photographed from rooftops and had a particular interest in the beauty that comes with urban decay," college journalism professor Aimee Edmondson told the Tribune.

According to CBS News, a 23-year-old man was also taking pictures when he fell to his death from a chimney at the InterContinental Chicago during 2012.

In June, 28-year old Joseph Seminara died after falling eight stories down an elevator shaft at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. Similar incidents involving picture-taking tourists have occurred at several national parks during recent years.

The pursuit of the perfect Instagram post has also been attributed to tourist deaths at the Taj Mahal and Autobahn.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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