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Last updated on Wednesday, May 20, 2015
(WESTFIELD) - Officials in Westfield said on Tuesday that no criminal charges will be filed in the high school stage collapse last month that injured more than a dozen students.
Westfield Police Department Capt. Charles E. Hollowell said the investigation revealed the collapse was the result of a failed pit lid that was designed by a school employee and students in January 2015. The original cover was removed to accommodate a production that needed an orchestra pit. Officials said the up-stage header was not securely anchored to the primary structure. They said it was only attached to a non-structural trim piece and there was no structure support installed.
Hollowell said while the result of stage construction was "catastrophic" it was not criminal, and therefore no criminal charges will be filed by the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.
Mark Keen, superintendent at Westfield Washington Schools, also spoke Tuesday.
Keen noted that four things must immediately happen. Officials have already contacted the manufacturer of the stage to ensure it can be installed back to a usable way. Officials say they're going to ask them to review the installation procedures. Moving forward, any time the stage is used, a facility request sheet must be filled out and an administrator must sign off on it. Finally, there must be a regular inspection of the stage.
Seventeen students were injured in the incident at Westfield High School at the end of April. Students were performing the musical "American Pie" on the school auditorium stage when the orchestra pit collapsed under them. Keen said 16 of the 17 students have since returned to school.
The school district will take necessary action after its own investigation, Keen said.
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