A fast-talking tinkerer and father of four was at the Atlanta Braves' stadium in metro Atlanta to install his beer tap invention when he died, his family said on Wednesday.
Todd Keeling, 48, was found dead by a worker at SunTrust Park in Cobb County, Georgia, inside a beer cooler on Tuesday afternoon, police said. Investigators said it was too early to determine if there was foul play.
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Fran Kuchta, Keeling’s aunt, said police told the family that he was in the cooler and couldn’t get out.
She said her nephew was excited to learn that another MLB stadium wanted his beer tap technology, Draftwell, which would cut down pour times at SunTrust from a 14-second average to five seconds.
Kuchta said he had been working on the invention since he graduated college.
“This is his dream since he was a kid,” Kuchta said.
Federal patent records show he filed an application for his "system for reducing foam at tap" invention in 2014.
His aunt said the beer systems were already at White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field and the Twins’ Target Field in Minnesota.
"He worked hard to do this," she said. " ... I'm sure things would have gone on further."
His two sons, both teenagers, were in Atlanta helping him put the system in at SunTrust Park, but left a few days ago, she said. Keeling was finishing up the installation.
Kuchta said she and her sister — Keeling’s mother — were watching the 5 o’clock news Tuesday when Keeling’s mother got the call about the accident from Keeling's wife.
Keeling’s mother screamed and became frantic for information, Kuchta said. She wasn’t getting any information on her son until she told police, “my son is dead, I need answers.”
Kuchta said Keeling’s parents drove to Cobb County and were set to meet with the medical examiner’s office.
She said the family is reeling from losing one of their rocks, a man who would always be in the middle of a gaggle of children.
"He's a big kid himself," she said.
Cox Media Group
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