Indiana Stage Collapse: After Deaths, More Questions
Five people were killed, and 45 were injured in a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair, on August 13th. A massive gust of wind estimated at 70 miles per hour, the result of a passing storm cell, caused the rigging of the stage to buckle and collapse onto concertgoers in the bowl area. The accident happened moments before the country band, Sugarland, was to commence their performance.
Fair attendee Ross Creelman had been showing his prize horses and had been offered free tickets to attend the Sugarland concert, but at the last moment, decided to go out for dinner instead. Creelman said the force of the wind "pushed the stage forward and it landed on the people sitting in the bowl area." Creelman said the magnitude of the collapse made escape nearly impossible. "We could look through the fence and see how the stage had just forced itself forward, and I mean you couldn't, you wouldn't have time likely to ever escape the stage," Creelman said.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been fielding questions since Saturday's collapse. Many are asking whether the tragedy could have been averted. Daniels went on the defensive, claiming that the weather system which caused the accident was "a fluke event". People are also questioning the decision by state fair officials to proceed with the Sugarland concert, even after receiving a serious alarm by the National Weather Service. Indiana State Fair official Andy Klotz said at a recent press conference that the collapse was a "freakish act of God, and I don't know how it could have been prevented."
However, meteorologists at the National Weather Service are coming forward to challenge the "act of God" theory. Weather warnings had been published as early as the preceding Thursday, predicting the possibility of severe storms on August 11th, 12th and 13th. On the Saturday of the accident, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Marion County, Ind., at 8:39 p.m. ET which included the Indianapolis metro area.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati