Victims’ attorney accuses Sugarland of lacking compassion for fans
Written by Carrie Ritchie-The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS — An attorney for several of the victims in the Indiana State Fair stage rigging collapse has accused Sugarland of lacking compassion and concern for fans who attended the concert.
Kenneth J. Allen said he was “struck by the lack of emotion and compassion” band members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush showed while they gave depositions Thursday and Friday in West Virginia. They shared their knowledge of the events leading up to the Aug. 13 stage rigging collapse that killed seven people and injured nearly 60.
“There was not a tear shed, there was not a moment taken to compose,” Allen said. “If your concern is genuine, how could you not be emotional?”
Reports released Thursday showed that the collapse occurred because the stage rigging didn’t have enough support to withstand the winds that accompanied a storm that evening. They also cited confusion over who had the final say in postponing the show.
That’s where Sugarland comes in.
According to a report from Witt Associates, which evaluated the steps the fair took that night, state fair executive director Cindy Hoye wanted to delay the show because of the weather, but Sugarland’s tour manager, Helen Rollens, wanted the show to go on as scheduled. Hoye assumed the band had the authority to make the call.
Rollens has not been deposed yet, but Allen said that Nettles and Bush told attorneys during their depositions that the fans’ safety was not their responsibility. However, he said the band members said they would have postponed the concert if they thought their own safety would be jeopardized.
Allan Mayer, a spokesman for the band, on Thursday issued a statement saying Nettles and Bush “care deeply about their fans and, as they’ve said, nobody wants to get to the bottom of what happened more than they do.”