Structural Fault Is Suspected in Terrace Collapse
Engineers believe the deadly collapse of a concrete terrace at a winery on a Lake Erie island was caused by a structural problem, not an overload of people.
One person was killed and at least 75 people were injured at the Lonz Winery when the terrace floor gave way Saturday, dropping victims and rubble 20 feet into an old wine cellar at the century-old, fortress-like mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The collapse left a 16- to 18-foot-wide hole in the floor of the terrace, which was built in 1964.
Structural engineers examined the damage late Saturday. “It looked to [them] to be a structural problem,” Ottawa County Sheriff Craig Emahiser said.
About 100 people were on the 25-by-20-foot terrace, Put-in-Bay Police Chief Jim Lang said.
Eight of the most seriously injured were flown to St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo. By Sunday, one remained in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The dead man was identified as Mark Reighard, 29, of Columbus.
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