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Safety Expert Disagrees With Legislator "Wait And See" Mentality

Last updated on Friday, August 19, 2011

(UNDATED) - A crowd safety expert is speaking out on the tragedy at the State Fair.

Paul Wertheimer, founder of Crowd Management Strategies, has investigated concert disasters involving death since 1979 and says the kind of disaster at the State Fair is sometimes the result of the "rain or shine" mentality. He says there's money at stake especially if the artist doesn't perform and has to be paid anyway and they just try to make do.

Wertheimer says the State Fair disaster is both a public safety issue and a structural issue. He says investigators need to look into both the State Fair's emergency plans and how well the stage was prepared for severe weather.

Wertheimer says he disagrees with legislators' "wait and see" stance regarding creating laws to prevent similar disasters in the future. He says enough information is out there to show that something needs to be done now.

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