Slush Pile: Fall off roof kills man fleeing hor

2007 Slush Pile

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Fall off roof kills man fleeing hor

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A guitarist who once played with Stompin' Tom Connors has died after tumbling off the roof of his apartment building while being pursued by a swarm of angry hornets.

Halton police Detective Sergeant Murray Drinkwalter said Wayne Chapman, 52, had been enjoying a drink with a friend on the roof Wednesday when he felt something sting him.

He got a fly swatter and started flailing at some yellow jackets that were buzzing around the fire escape on the east side of the three-storey rooming house. As he was retreating from the wasp attack, Chapman lost his footing, fell over the side of the building and landed on the gravel driveway about six metres below.

He suffered serious head injuries, never regained consciousness and died of cardiac arrest a few hours later in a Toronto hospital.

"It was a case of a couple of buddies having cocktails on the roof top and it took a turn for the tragic," Drinkwalter said.

It was the second bizarre stinging insect attack in Halton this week. On Tuesday night, a Burlington man inadvertently set his house on fire when he flicked his cigarette at bees swarming around him on his back porch. The embers ignited some dry material in eaves and started a fire that caused about $60,000 damage to the roof.

Ken Murray, 66, who manages the 15-room boarding house on Main Street East, said he had repeatedly warned Chapman to keep off the roof. He had also told him to stop swatting at the hornets, which had a nest near the top of the roof by the fire escape.

But Chapman, who lived by himself and worked as a janitor in the Milton industrial park, would often climb through his back window to get to the flat roof beside his third-floor unit. He'd go there to socialize, play his guitar and cool off on warm nights.

The back section of the house was two storeys high and had been added to the main house which had three storeys and a slanted roof. But it was never designed as a terrace or patio and had no railings or barriers.

Gordon Brown said he helped Chapman move into the rooming house at the beginning of the summer. Before that, he had been renting a room at Bryden's Hotel about a block away on Main Street East.

Brown said Chapman, who was non-violent and slightly built, was having trouble with some of the regulars at Bryden's who would often hit him up for money or harass him physically.

"He was a nice guy, very generous. If you needed a hand financially, he'd help you ... people took advantage of his kindness," Brown said.

Brown had also warned his friend to keep off the roof. He was concerned because Chapman took prescription drugs for bipolar disorder and often drank too much.

As far as he knew, Chapman was never married and had no children. He grew up in the Maritimes and had relatives, including a sister, in the Georgetown area.

As a young man in the East Coast, Chapman had performed in a band with Canadian music legend Stompin' Tom Connors.

He still had an old vinyl album with his picture on the jacket beside Stompin' Tom and some other musicians. It was one of his most cherished possessions, along with a battered guitar from those days.

He no longer performed professionally but often jammed with fellow tenants. He seemed to know all the country classics and could do a great rendition of Johnny Cash.

"He was a good musician," recalled Ken Murray, who once had a country band of his own.

Brown said Chapman could get frustrated and ornery at times but he was always happy when he was playing his guitar.

"I think he'd be happy if we buried him with his old guitar," he said.

plegall@thespec.com

905-526-3385

Submitted on 08/24/2007

Submitted by: David Buckle
Reference: Paul Legall The Hamilton Spectator MILTON (Aug 24, 2007)

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks, David, we've already received this story a few times.

James said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
As Bruce said!

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2007 Slush Pile

Fall off roof kills man fleeing hor

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance