A concertgoer taking his wife to a show by the jam band Goose for their 25th anniversary fell to his death inside Madison Square Garden, cops said Sunday.
Paul Kueker, 51, suffered injuries “indicative of falling from an elevated condition” about 9:50 p.m. Saturday inside the world-famous Midtown Manhattan arena, police said.
Medics rushed Kueker, of Niantic, Conn., to Bellevue Hospital but he could not be saved. Police do not believe he is the victim of a crime.
‘He loved everybody,” his mother, Patti Finelli, told the Daily News Sunday. “He had no enemies. He was the life of the party. His sense of humor was beyond.”
Kueker was a devoted father to a son and a daughter and had just watched his son graduate from high school two days before dying on the night before Father’s Day.
“He was a wonderful dad,” Finelli said. “He had taken his wife to the Goose concert because their 25th anniversary is on Tuesday.”
Kueker’s wife, Kristen, didn’t see him fall, his mother said. He had stepped away to use the restroom and apparently fell off a spot on the third level of the arena, Finelli said.
“He got up to go to the bathroom and he didn’t come back,” Finelli said. “She was getting worried after 10 or 15 minutes. And he didn’t come back.”
Police officers at the stadium eventually found his wife and told her what had happened, the mom said.
“While we await the police report on the tragedy at last night’s Goose concert, we are deeply saddened by the loss of a fan’s life at Madison Square Garden,” MSG Entertainment said in a statement Sunday. The venue bills itself as “the world’s most famous arena” and this month hosted Knicks NBA Finals games attended by everyone from President Trump to Taylor Swift.
Goose, a Connecticut-based jam band, was playing its second of two concerts at the arena over the weekend when tragedy struck.
“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of the tragic event that occurred at tonight’s show. We extend our deepest sympathy to everyone affected,” the band posted on Instagram early Sunday. “Thank you to the emergency personnel and venue staff who stepped in with care and support.”
Kueker worked as a director of operations for Smartcon Solutions, a Connecticut-based software company. Prior to that he worked as a manager of field operations for Honeywell for more than 13 years.
“Paul meant the world to everyone at Smartcon. He was an extraordinary person and a valued member of our team, and the loss is felt deeply across our entire company,” said William Brown, the company’s general manager. “Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. He will be profoundly missed.”
Thomas Mirante, the company’s co-founder, added, “Simply put, Paul was a legend of a human being.”
Kueker was such a devoted son that even during a family medical crisis, he made sure to get his mother a new dog when she lost a beloved pet.
“He said, ‘Mom, what do you want?’ I said, ‘I want a fluffy dog.’ The next thing I know he’s talking to somebody on the phone and I have a mini bernedoodle that my son found and had delivered to my house,” she recounted. “Does that tell you what kind of son he was?”
“He was beyond smart,” she added, fighting back tears. “He called me almost every single day. If I didn’t call him, he called me.”
