One of the great country bands, Sugarland was all set to go out on stage at the Indiana State Fair. Just minutes before they were to entertain the crowd an announcer explained that the show would be delayed due to weather, they warned the crowd they may need to evacuate and told them where they should go in that event.
Sadly, just two or three minutes later there was no longer time to take cover.
Tonight's local news took the entire hour covering the story. Sugarland cancelled their concert tonight, which was supposed to be in Iowa. Their stage is gone as is their equipment, but that pales in comparison to the five people that lost their lives and the nearly 50 people injured, some severely.
Our governor Mitch Daniels spoke today, his voice cracking talking about the tragedy but offering hope. There's hope because Hoosiers attending the concert, turned from running from the stage back to saving those trapped under the rigging. "Hoosiers ran to the trouble, not from the trouble."
Say a prayer tonight for those who have lost someone. And those still suffering from their injuries.
Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland said, "I am so moved. Moved by the grief of those families who lost loved ones. Moved by the pain of those who were injured and the fear of their families. Moved by the great heroism as I watched so many brave Indianapolis fans actually run toward the stage to try and help lift and rescue those injured. Moved by the quickness and organization of the emergency workers who set up the triage and tended to the injured."
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...and sadly, today Indiana lawyers will move in to speak with the families of the dead and injured and start looking for ways to sue everyone involved.
Sometimes horrible things are just accidents.
Sadly, my cynical side went straight to "What Joe said."
But at the same time, it always gives me hope and restores a little bit of faith in humanity to see regular people rushing in to help others in times of tragedy.
My heart goes out to all involved.
Ever since we moved from Indiana, we are amazed at the influx of weird weather, starting with my house in New Albany, while FOR SALE, ending up with trees in the living room. Then the extreme heat.
We've watched all the coverage and are amazed at the timing. If Sugarland had been ON stage, a lot more people would have rushed forward and been hurt or killed.
From everything I've been able to determine, there just wasn't enough time to properly evacuate. It's just a freak accident, but I know there will be some people that will never accept that.
I just saw where Mitch Daniel's family was at the fair with one of his daughter's very close to where the stage collapsed. Explains why he was so deeply affected by the incident.
And I read tonight that a guy that works for the company that I've been working a short term contract was on the stage 4 minutes before it fell, announcing they may need to evacuate.
He announced it at 8:45, they had already decided to make a second announcement but had not had time when the stage rigging collapsed at 8:49.
But I'm proud of my fellow Hoosiers who rushed in to help save the injured. God Bless them all.
What if-
The stage had fallen TOWARD the crowd? Yeah, this was terrible. It could have been much MUCH worse.
GB: The stage DID fall toward the crowd. Most of the crowd had already sensed the wind was getting out of hand, they've said it was a gust of 77 mph. If you see the video's you can see the crowd is running in all directions. Once the stage collapsed, most of the crowd ran back to help rescue those trapped and injured.
Still looks to me as if the collapse is mostly from left to right. Granted, there is a slight movement toward the crowd, but it looks as if that is fraction of the lateral movement.
If it had come toward the camera, we'd be talking hundreds/thousands(?) dead.
Looking at it again, I can see what you mean. Don't think there would be thousands, but certainly could have been a lot worse.
Another video that I didn't post was not as good quality, but eerily just before the collapse, there was someone beside the camera that said, "I don't want to die."
Hi, Rita, that's such a horrible thing. I guess their manager told the band not to go out there, and might have saved their lives.
I'm with Joe; nobody did this on purpose; the stand was strong enough to carry a band and all its amps and other equipment, yet lawyers will be stepping in, as if the injured weren't going to get medical care anyway. Now they'll want "pain and suffering" and maybe enough money to retire on.
tough situation
We need to pray for the injured and the families of the dead, that's for sure. God bless them.
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