Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Marion soccer coach dies in fall
Eric Albano, 35, was cut after falling through a plate glass window.
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Marion High School boys soccer coach Eric Albano died early Sunday after falling through a plate glass window in an abandoned downtown storefront in Marion in an apparent accident, police said.
Albano, 35, died at Smyth County Community Hospital, where he was taken early Sunday morning with a severe laceration, Marion police Lt. Andrew Moss said.
Police were summoned to the 100 block of East Main Street in Marion at 1:09 a.m. Sunday, where officers discovered Albano. Albano received emergency medical treatment on the scene and was transported to the hospital by the Marion Life Saving Crew, police said.
Moss said Albano's death appears to be accidental, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
"That's where we are right now, that it was an accident," Moss said. "That is pending the investigation. We're still looking into it with respect to how things happened. It's still preliminary."
Moss said Albano had left Macado's restaurant on East Main Street just prior to the incident.
Albano was in the company of several other individuals when the incident occurred at the front of a nearby building that once was a restaurant, Moss said.
"They said they heard the crash behind them," Moss said. "They said they don't know exactly what caused him to fall."
Moss said a toxicology test would be performed. Moss said he had no knowledge of any physical condition that might have contributed to Albano's fall.
"He was a pretty in-shape guy," Moss said. "I've known him for years, been friends with him. He was a well-known guy to everybody."
Albano, a Marion High graduate, was the school's boys soccer coach for the past five years after serving as an assistant for six seasons. He played four years of soccer at Marion and played two seasons from 1992-94 at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass.
Albano worked full time in Marion at his parents' accounting business -- Albano & Associates -- and was employed by the Smyth County school system only as a soccer coach, Marion principal Danny Newman said.
Newman said he received a call early Sunday morning from Marion High's school resource officer informing him of Albano's death.
"I was in shock," Newman said.
Newman said Monday was a difficult day at the school.
"It was pretty somber," the Marion principal said. "We had some extra counselors available. We had a few kids come in and talk to them. It will probably really hit more when everything moves along."
Newman praised Albano as a coach. Albano's last game as a coach was a 3-2 overtime loss to Pulaski County in the Group AA Region IV quarterfinals with the winning score coming when a Marion player accidentally put the ball into his team's own goal.
"He did a good job for us," Newman said. "He cared a lot about the kids. He cared a lot about the program."
Albano is survived by his parents and two sisters.
Funeral services for Albano will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Marion.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. today in the Seaver-Brown Funeral Home chapel in Marion.
