Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Circus Operator Will Pay Fines For Fatal Tent Collapse

Chris Jensen for NHPR

 A Florida-based circus operator has agreed to pay $24,000 in fines issued by federal safety officials for a tent collapse that killed two people and injured dozens in New Hampshire last year.

Forty-one-year-old Robert Young and his 6-year-old daughter, Annabelle, of Vermont, died Aug. 3, 2015, when a storm with 75 mph winds blew through the Lancaster Fairgrounds, toppling the tent just minutes after about 100 people had settled in for a show. Fifty others were injured.

Sarasota-based Walker International Events contested $33,000 in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; a judge recently approved a settlement.

OSHA said Walker failed to properly erect the tent and ignored severe weather and high-wind warnings.

Walker is out of business, and OSHA said Wednesday it won't resume operations unless it first implements a comprehensive safety and health management plan.

Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.