Chicago Mother Killed After Gargoyle Falls From Church

A mother of two was walking down a Chicago sidewalk when the head of a Gargoyle ornament broke off the Second Presbyterian Church and struck her in the head killing her.

Sara Bean, 34, lived across the street from the church which was built in 1874.

Witnesses say part of a metal star at the top of the church’s tower fell off, clipping the head of an ornamental gargoyle on the way down. Both fell more than three stories to the ground. Witnesses are unclear which piece hit the victim. As crews put up scaffolding outside the church Thursday night, relatives of Bean had to break the news to her children.

Bean’s brother, Michael Willis, says his sister and her fiance were standing on the southeast corner waiting for a light to change. “He went to look at my sister. He looked back and saw that maybe a 30-pound limestone hit her in the head and split her head in two,” said Willis. “The guy was screaming hysterically, so I was basically trying to get to him and calm him down a little bit because I knew I couldn’t do much for her,” said Broderick Adams, a witness. source

 
Bean, 34, worked as a nurse’s aide at Lurie Children’s Hospital and was scheduled to work there Thursday night. The mother of two boys, ages 10 and 14, was also caring for a niece and nephew.

The church’s pastor declined to comment.