In a freak accident Thursday afternoon, an engaged mother of two was fatally struck by a falling gargoyle stone off a historic church in Chicago.
Sara Bean, 34, was walking to lunch with her fiancé when a stone clipped the head of a gargoyle on the side of Second Presbyterian Church, landing on her head. An eyewitness reported the debris split Bean’s head from front to back. The stone had fallen three stories from the historic 140-year-old church’s tower.
Bean, who was scheduled to marry later this year, lived across the street from the church, and walked passed the it millions of times, according to family. She leaves behind two sons, ages 10 and 14.
Rev. Robert Reynolds, executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Chicago, issued an apology statement today to Bean’s family.
“We’re devastated by the death of this woman and the fact that it is a function of some of the masonry at the Second Presbyterian Church,” he said. “My prayers go out to that woman and her family.”
Second Presbyterian Church is inspected every year and passed inspection in recent years. The church, erected in 1847, was recently cited as a landmark.