Lawyer: Injuries, death from Wood Dale tent collapse preventable
A personal injury attorney representing the family of Steven Nincic says the tragic tent collapse that killed the 35-year-old Wood Dale man was both "predictable and preventable."
Louis Cairo said he intends to file suit on behalf of Nincic's family by the end of the week, claiming the city had an evacuation plan for a storm such as the one that struck the Prairie Fest grounds Sunday afternoon but that festival staff members and city police officers did not follow it.
Nincic was killed when he was struck by a steel support pole as the tent collapsed in a large gust of wind, authorities said. The father of two was at the festival with his wife, Nicole, and two children.
Twenty-two others were injured when the tent came crashing down.
Police said the fast-moving storm struck around 2:35 p.m., sending fest participants scrambling for cover. Nincic and others took shelter under the fest's music tent.
Police Chief Greg Vesta said one of those injured in the tent collapse was a Wood Dale police officer who was standing inches from Nincic. Also injured, according to city attorney Mary Dickson, was City Manager Jeff Mermuys, who was treated and released from an area hospital Sunday night but has not returned to work.
Mayor Annunziato Pulice also was hospitalized Sunday evening for chest pains he experienced while helping in the recovery effort. Dickson said Pulice was released from the hospital Tuesday and is recovering at home.
Cairo said he believes following the fest's evacuation plan, which he has not seen, could have prevented Nincic's death and the other injuries. Cairo said he believes the plan was to direct people to their cars or to nearby Wood Dale Junior High School.
"In today's world, where everyone has information at their fingertips, there is no question that everyone knew a dangerous storm was headed toward DuPage County. And the two last places you would ever bring someone during a storm are onto the Ferris wheel and under a tent," Cairo said. "But staff members and police officers were right there telling people to get under that tent."
Cairo says fest staff members and police officers aren't to blame because he doesn't believe city officials shared the proper evacuation plan with them.
"No one says, 'Here, come huddle under this big tent that may come crashing down on your family. At least you won't get wet,'" Cairo said. "No. You run to the big brick building right next door. You may get hit with some hail and get soaking wet, but you'll be safe."
Earlier this week, Vesta said the city has "dangerous-weather contingency plans" but declined to share details of those plans or whether they were followed.
On Wednesday, Dickson also declined to comment when asked about the existence or details of such plans. The Daily Herald has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city for the release of any such plan.
Cairo said he's also "frustrated" that "critical evidence was removed" from the scene before he was able have experts reconstruct the tent collapse.
"We wanted to review each strap to see which strap broke first and why. I wanted to review each stake, but I couldn't because not every stake, but six out of 50, had been removed and piled in a parking lot," Cairo said. "And within 24 hours the tent company had removed everything."
After filing suit, Cairo said he will be in DuPage County court Monday morning seeking a protective order to preserve soil samples at the scene.