Friday, August 19, 2011

Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse Claims Sixth Victim

A 22-year-old Ball State University student, Jennifer Haskell, has died from injuries she sustained from last Saturday's tragic collapse of the stage rigging during a severe thunderstorm prior to the start of a scheduled Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair Grandstand. She becomes the sixth fatality claimed by the tragedy a day after Gov. Mitch Daniels announced that he was appointing an outside emergency preparedness expert, Witt Associates, to review the preparedness and response of state fair officials last weekend. Haskell's best friend, Alina Bigjohny, 23, died instantly from injuries she sustained from the stage rigging collapse. Daniels earlier announced the hiring of an outside engineering firm, Thornton Tomasetti, to investigate the cause of the stage rigging collapse during high winds generated by an approaching severe thunderstorm.

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