VICTIMS OF INDIANA STATE FAIR STAGE COLLAPSE IDENTIFIED, LATER HONORED AT CEREMONY
The Indiana State Fair re-opened today following a Deadly Sugarland Concert Accident Saturday. Indiana's governor as well as Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard were among the officials who participated in a memorial service for the victims of the tragic accident. The Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys at Kooi Law have now learned the identities of those five victims. They are 42 year old Tammy Vandam of Wanatah, 49 year old Glenn Goodrich of Indianapolis, 23 year old Alina Bigjohny of Fort Wayne, 29 year old Christina Santiago of Chicago, and 51 year old Nathan Byrd of Indianapolis. Additionally, more than 40 people were hurt when the stage collapsed.
Byrd was the 5th person to die from the Concert Accident. He passed away Sunday at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He was a spotlight operator who was up in the rigging at the time the stage fell. Indiana Workers Compensation issues are not confirmed. However, workers who are hurt or fatally injured while on the job are often entitled to Work Comp benefits.
Indianapolis Concert Accident Lawyers are also learning more about the other four victims. Bigjohny was a recent Manchester College graduate who was about to start a teaching job at a middle school in Muncie. Goodrich leaves behind a wife and two sons. He spent about two decades working security. Santiago had driven down from Chicago for the Sugarland concert. She was a manager at the Community Care Project at Howard Brown Health Center. Vandam was a mother who was attending the concert as part of a belated birthday celebration.
As for why the stage at the Indiana State Fair's Main Grandstand collapsed, many agencies are looking into this. Indiana State Police and Marion County authorities are taking the reins on the investigation. Also, officials with the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration are examining the company who put up the rigging, Mid-America Sound Corporation. A company engineer from Tennessee was also said to be set to investigate the collapse. IOSHA is often involved in Indiana Workers Compensation cases.
The weather appears to have played a big role in the Concert Accident. A severe thunderstorm warning had been in place before the accident happened shortly before 9PM. Extremely strong winds preceded the rain. The National Weather Service estimates wind gusts reached 60-70 mph. Conflicting reports exist on what concert goers where told about the weather and evacuation plans in a message just minutes before the wind kicked up.
The Howard County Sheriff's Department in Central Indiana is reporting that a deputy is recovering after his cruiser was struck head-on by a pickup truck on U. S. 31. The accident reportedly occurred south of United States Road 35 when James Smith of Dixon, Kentucky, hit a patch of black ice and lost control of his truck and moved across lanes into the path of Deputy Keith Chesshir's squad car, striking it on the driver's side door. 
Police say that Drake was headed northbound on Indiana 15 near the intersection of County Road 250 North when her vehicle collided with another vehicle driven by Teresa Cervantes, 38, of Leesburg. Police reported that the impact occurred as Cerveantes attempted to make a right hand turn at the light.
Hamilton County, Indiana, to reach flood stage this week. Officials believe the river should crest and fall below flood stage in Noblesville by Saturday.
State police reported that twenty-eight cars and five semi trucks were involved in a chain reaction collision. Two people riding in a semi truck were killed and one person was critically injured. Ten others were taken to nearby hospitals, and police reported multiple entrapments with injuries. 
Indiana State Police attended to a fatal car accident that claimed the life of a Marengo woman. According to initial reports, 36-year-old Suzanne M. Mosson lost control of her car on a snow-packed Indiana Highway 64 at about 1:30 p.m. Mosson's car reportedly spun out of control and collided with another car driven by a Milltown man. Mosson was pronounced dead at the scene. The other driver wasn't injured. Accordingly to police, both drivers were wearing their seat-belts.
head-on collision at about 8 p.m. on Indiana Highway 63, just south of the Federal Correctional Complex near Ryman Drive. Four individuals were sent to the hospital by ambulance. Initial investigation indicated that a southbound pickup truck collided with a northbound car right towards the middle of the highway.
These measures have the added intention of holding nursing home facilities accountable for deficient care which leads to abuse, injury, or in some cases, death.
Prosecutors contend that six young females were involved in the despicable activity and were named in criminal complaints filed December 1st charging them with cruel behavior at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home, which is located in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
when his cruiser came across ice near the 51 mile marker and struck a guardrail. 
All six facilities, including Colonial Oaks Health Care Center in Marion, Miller’s Merry Manor in Marion, Park Villa in Marion, Twin City Health Care in Gas City, University Nursing Center in Upland and Wesleyan Health Care Center in Marion received the lowest possible rating, one star.
Officials in Florida received a call on Monday from the Childersburg, Alabama Police Department indicating that a white male fitting the description of Schrenker had approached a Childersburg's police officer, and indicated that he had been in a canoeing accident with friends. According to reports, Schrenker's pants were wet from the knees down. According to a police news release, Schrenker also had parachuting goggles and his own Indiana Driver's License with him. 
Under the CMS' new ranking system, nearly 28 percent of the state's nursing homes received a one star rating, which is CMS' worst rating under their 
The Indiana FSSA disputes that this is just a cost-saving measure noting that they would have pushed for this proposal regardless of the economic condition. To effect the plan, however, the FSSA must have the policy established through a rule-making process that requires a public hearing and economic evaluations. That will likely take about six months. Despite this, the discussion could be usurped by lawmakers, who are expected to have several bills dealing with nursing home reimbursements and inspections when they return to the Statehouse later this month.
In the three years prior to those installations, the INDOT reported that the same two sections of Interstate combined had 12 fatal crashes, 11 serious injury accidents, and 69 accidents involving injury.
