Five people lost their lives and several more were injured when the steel scaffolding on a stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed recently due to a sudden storm.
An announcer had just given the crowd information on where to evacuate if the weather, which was beginning to turn stormy, began to get worse. The audience was waiting for country band Sugarland to take the stage when a sudden gust of wind, dirt, and rain brought the steel rigging above the stage down into the crowds. The beams, lighting, and sound equipment toppled to the ground, injuring several people sitting in the VIP section of the audience. Emergency medical teams set up a triage unit in one of the tunnels below the fairgrounds in order to treat those who had been injured in the chaos.
Approximately forty people were injured in the accident. Several suffered head and neck injuries or broken bones suffered when they were struck by the falling stage equipment. Emergency crews searched the fairgrounds throughout the day after the accident, making sure that no injured audience members had wandered away or gotten lost in the confusion surrounding the collapse of the stage.
The fair, which runs through August 21st, reopened the Monday after the accident and held a special memorial service to remember those who lost their lives. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Sevenish Law Firm are with those who lost loved ones in the accident, and we wish each of the injured a speedy recovery.
