Indiana State Fair - Sugarland

My first official blog and it’s not funny; not at all.  But I think if I can put into words what we experienced, maybe I can let it go a little bit.

Ryan and I had a ‘date night’ last night.  Ryan bought tickets for us to see Sugarland at the Indiana State Fair.  Sugarland is a favorite band of mine (I have to note that they are not a top favorite for Ryan but he’s a good husband).  We headed out to the fair around 5pm.  It was still hot out but the breeze blowing in was cool.  We knew there was a chance for thunderstorms but we live in Indiana.  There are often chances for thunderstorms.  You live your life and adapt to the weather as you go.  We walked around and ate our fair favorites and headed in to the venue.  We had seats in the grandstand.  I was relieved because I figured if it rained, we wouldn’t get to wet.  Sara Bareilles came on and sang and then they switched out all the stage gear.  And we waited. 

You could see the heavy clouds rolling in and lightening off in the distance.  I chatted briefly with the ladies behind us and yes, we all had our smart phones out looking at radar.  What the radar couldn’t tell us was the severity of the storms or the wind gusts associated with the storm.  We debated whether or not the concert would start.  I expressed concern about the lightning since we were in a metal structure sitting on metal seats.

A gentleman from Hank FM came out and made an announcement.  I can’t repeat it verbatim, but it was about the fact that storms were forecasted and IF the weather got bad during the concert they would evacuate us and where we should go if that happened.  He then said the concert would be starting soon.  He gave every impression that Sugarland would be out any minute and the concert would start.  There was NO mention of starting an evacuation.  There was no sense that the storm was anything to be worried about.

Shortly after he left the stage, some fans decided to leave.  Ryan and I discussed leaving and he said something along the lines, ‘let’s let those people who are panicking leave now and we’ll just wait and if we need to, we can leave after them and it won’t be so crowded.’  At this time we felt no danger from the approaching weather other than getting wet.

And then it happened.  It’s so hard to explain but the front came in like a visible WALL of dirt.  Ryan pointed to the parking lot and said something like ‘look at that dirt storm’.  And then he said, ‘OMG, look at the stage.’  My eyes moved with the wall of the storm and you could see it happen.  The stage started to lean.  I believe I said, ‘OMG.  No. NO! NO!  OH MY GOD!’ and then I just screamed.  It fell in slow motion.  It’s hard to explain how fast the chain of events occurred but then just how SLOW it fell.  It fell slightly to the right and right down on the crowd of fans.  Seeing it happen, you knew people were going to die.

By this time we were standing and we immediately moved to the aisle to leave.  In my mind, I was thinking the stage just fell and the storm isn’t even here yet.  We need to get out NOW.  Apparently, this was the mindset of most people in the stands.  The aisle was packed and it wasn’t moving.  Then two cops had their badges over their heads and were pushing down thru the crowd.  They were there for the concert and trying to get down to the scene to help.  However, the hole they created was soon filled by a group of 5-6 people who were in major panic mode and were pushing and shoving.  Suddenly the fear moved from the severe weather, to being trampled.  I was scared to death of falling or losing Ryan in the crowd.  Our conversation was short and brief, we were moving back to our seats.

The couple in the seats next to us had not moved.  They were holding each other, crying, and staring down at the stage.  Once the stage fell, I never looked back down.  I don’t know if it was a conscious thought or not.  I just never looked at it again.  Ryan said he could hear screaming.  I must have blocked it.

Once back at our seats, we could see that if we climbed down the seats, we had a clear path.  So down we went.  About three rows down we passed a group of maybe 7-9 people all huddled together and kneeling with hands touching each other and they were praying.  Now – my faith is exactly that.  Mine.  It’s between me and God and I don’t often discuss it in great detail.  My first thought was not to drop to my knees to pray, that’s not how I work.  But I found GREAT comfort in that group praying.  There was a sense of calmness around them and I couldn’t help but feel that.  I felt like I could take a deep breath and focus.  There was a woman on the edge of the group with her hand on them but her focus on the aisle and the crowd….almost like that of a Shepard.  We made eye contact as we passed and I reached out and steadied myself on her and said ‘I’m sorry’ and she said ‘It’s okay.  We’re going to be okay.’  Never doubt the affect your words can have on a stranger.  She helped me in a way that’s hard to put into words or explain.

Once we made it down the seats, the aisle across from ours was not packed and it was orderly.  We made it down on the platform and then around the corner and down the stairs to the main level.  At this point, there was NO crowd and everything was orderly.  As we left, an usher was talking and I turned to Ryan and asked what she was saying.  She was telling us to keep our tickets so when the concert started we could get back in.  She had no clue what was going on.  I was horrified.

We hit the street and Ryan guided us to a building and I was trying desperately to text our babysitter.  I didn’t know when or how the news would hit and I wanted her to know we were okay.  I had been texting Molly earlier in the night so I texted her as well.  And then I posted on FB that we were okay.  My hands were shaking badly and my eyes were full of dirt and tears.

We were guided into the horse building.  It was surreal at this point because you had regular fair goers taking shelter from the rain that was JUST THEN starting to hit and had no idea of the tragedy just feet from where they stood and concert goers standing there in shock.  EVERYONE was on their phone.  Ryan did a large text out to family and friends letting them know we were okay while I was texting our babysitter and Molly with details and reassurances.  Announcements were being made but it was mostly about taking shelter or for someone to report to the office.  We were told we could leave and then told there was a lock-down.  This confusion about whether or not we could leave was a theme for the next two hours.

I felt an overwhelming need to leave.  I needed to leave.  We made our way outside the building which helped.  The fresh air and the sense of more space helped me.  We could see officers arriving on the scene and others hard at work.  We could not see the stage or inside the venue, just the main stretch of street in front of it.  Ambulances were still leaving.They cleared some injured out of the Pepsi Coliseum (maybe a triage area there?) and then we were allowed to leave.  The rain started again as we left and we were soaked by the time we reached our car.  We came home and watched the news and eventually staggered off to bed around 2am.

Both of us were very angry last night when there were reports that an evacuation was ordered.  No evacuation was announced to the people attending the concert.  If there was an evacuation in process, it had NOT reached the point where it was announced to the crowd.  Watching the news last night once we were home, we did hear that the storm was not expected to hit until 9:15 so knowing that, it’s reasonable to assume they thought they had time to order an evacuation.  We’ve also seen posts and comments that those at the concert should have known of the danger of the storm and evacuated without being told.  Yes, I did have my smart phone and yes, I did have the radar pulled up.  But there was no indication of the severity of the storm or the wind gusts associated with it.  We did not have that information.  I’m sure someone had that information, but we did not.  We did not feel in danger until we literally SAW the wind gust in front of the line of storms.  It rolled in so fast.  I can’t explain it but it moved so fast.  There was no time to respond.

As for the stage, I understand that wind gusts of up to 77mph were reported with the storm.  However, it took one single gust (from my observation) and the stage just blew over.  I strongly believe there had to be something structurally wrong with the stage.  When we left, there were no food carts or trash cans or ANYTHING blown over or knocked down.

We got up this morning exhausted and still really gritty and dirty from last night.  But we woke up together and we woke up safe.  Ryan told me he originally looked at tickets down in front but decided not to spend the extra money.  There is that knowledge that it could have been us.  We could have been in that crowd.  And that is one of the things that keeps me on the edge of tears today.  It could have been us. 

We’ve talked to the kids about it and answered questions.  They are curious and trying to grasp what happened.  I choked up when Zoey asked if any kids were hurt.  There are no words.  There are no words for those who had a child injured or were separated from loved ones and lived in panic and fear wondering if they were okay.  There are no words for those sitting in the hospital with those severely injured and there are no words for those making funeral arrangements today.

It was a freak accident.  Yes, steps could have been taken to lessen the extent of the tragedy.  And yes, I believe a better stage could have prevented this tragedy.  But it is, none the less, a freak accident.  I take great comfort in hearing the stories of the people who turned around and ran into the scene and worked so hard to help those hurt.  There are many nameless heroes of all varieties that were at work last night and even today.

Say some prayers for all of those involved and for the emergency personnel who responded. 

http://www.wthr.com/story/15262930/stage-collapses-at-state-fairgrounds