INDIANAPOLIS — Fans who were killed and injured when stage rigging and sound equipment collapsed onto them as they awaited a Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair failed to take steps to ensure their own safety and are at least in part to blame for their injuries, the country duo’s attorneys said.
The statement, part of a Feb. 16 response to a civil suit filed by survivors and families of some of those killed, is an attempt to cast blame away from the band as investigators search for answers in the collapse that killed seven people and injured 58.
Calling the powerful winds that toppled the stage Aug. 13 an “act of God,” Sugarland’s attorneys said fair officials and Mid-America Sound were responsible for the stage setup and that the fans voluntarily assumed risk by attending the show. The Associated Press
