1 dead, several injured in Wood Dale tent collapse

Michelle Gallardo Image
Monday, August 3, 2015
1 dead, several injured in Wood Dale tent collapse
One man died and several people were injured when a tent collapsed at a community festival in the northwest suburbs Sunday afternoon.

WOOD DALE, Ill. (WLS) -- One man died and over a dozen people were injured when a tent collapsed at a community festival in the northwest suburbs Sunday afternoon.

PHOTOS: Tent collapses in Wood Dale

Fifteen people were transported from Prairie Fest in suburban Wood Dale to local hospitals in varying conditions. Two or three of the injured are in serious to critical condition, according to local fire and police departments.

Steven Nincic, 35, was at the festival with his wife and two kids when the storms blew through, collapsing a tent pole on top of him.

This was not how the last day of Wood Dale's annual Prairie Fest was supposed to end, with one person dead and 15 more in the hospital as a result of a collapsed main tent. John Anderson's band was there, waiting to take the stage when the storm rolled through.

"Everyone got off the stage and it just came up real quick," Anderson said.

Police say just after 2:30 p.m., seeing the approaching storm, fest officials had just shut down the rides, stopped the music and were trying to get people out, but it was too late. Eleven-year-old Bella Salgado was trying to take shelter from the hail.

"We turned to look and the tent flew off into the sky and the fence flew up and everyone was on the floor, and you heard screaming and crying," she said. "I saw one of my friends on the floor. Her whole arm was cut. I was really, really afraid. I was trying to get cops to come over by her."

There is no update on the remaining injured festival-goers.

The storm that rolled through the area Sunday afternoon caused the roof to collapse at The Dome at the Ball Park in suburban Rosemont.

Dome collapses at Rosemont's Ball Park

The storm that rolled through the area Sunday afternoon caused the roof to collapse at The Dome at the Ball Park in suburban Rosemont.

There were no occupants were in the building when strong winds, hail and rain swept through the area around 2:45 p.m. Sunday. All staff members of the facility were also out of the building at the times of the collapse.

The area is cordoned off until further notice.

The official cause of the collapse remains under investigation. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Wind knocks small plane over at O'Hare

The wind also knocked over a small plane at O'Hare International Airport Sunday evening.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Choice One flight was in line for takeoff when a gust of wind tipped the Cesna 10-seater plane over.

A person on board said he and his family were heading Burlington, Iowa. No one was seriously injured.