Students hurt who were hurt when a portion of a stadium collapsed Friday night returned to school Monday, according to Principal Joe Walker. It happened at the Union County Stadium as Union County High School Yellow Jackets played J.L. Mann. A retaining wall collapsed from the weight of the students who were leaning on it. The stadium, built in 1960, is run by the County, and the Union County School District leases it for games.
Eleven students were taken to the hospital Friday, according to Principal Walker, and three showed up later in the evening. Walker tells News Channel 7 they were all released that night and were back in school Monday. Walker says, "I've talked to everybody that's on the list that was transferred to the hospital, and they are doing well. The biggest thing we have is a young man who has a cracked collarbone. He is wearing a figure 8 brace and he's doing real good."
According to Union County Manager Ronnie Wade a chain link fence will be installed before the last game Friday. Following an assessment by an engineer Saturday, the County plans to add warning signs and security at the wall. Wade says it’s safe. According to Wade, "We’ve had an engineer on site. We had already given us his analysis that the walls are safe, as long as they are not an extreme amount of lateral force put on them, and that was exactly what happened the other night." The engineer recommends a complete structural evaluation needs to be done, before County funds are spent to replace the wall. Students will not be permitted to lean on the wall on Friday.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement