E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSSt. Louis Cardinals fans took a moment to reflect after a night of violent weather, one that left a party tent hanging mangled from railroad tracks. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- A storm blasting through the city blew away a tent outside a downtown bar, leaving one man dead Saturday afternoon, NBC station KSDK reported.
Twenty others -- three in critical condition -- were taken to a hospital after the incident at Kilroy’s Sports Bar on South Seventh Street, a couple of blocks south of Busch Stadium, KSDK reported. A total of 100 people received medical treatment, KSDK said. Photos showed the tent impaled on a nearby railroad trestle.
KSDK via NBC News
A beer garden tent at Kilroy's Sports Bar near Busch Stadium in St. Louis is shown impaled on a train trestle Saturday after winds blew it away, killing one man and injuring about 100 other people.
It was not clear whether the man who died was struck during the incident or went into cardiac arrest because of shock, officials said.
St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson told KSDK that a few hundred people were celebrating in the tent after the Cardinals' 7-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers when the storm hit.
"We've got severe injuries to quite a few people," Jenkerson said, noting live wires were left on the ground after the tarp tied to galvanized pipes blew away. "We don't like this type of building. It gives us nightmares, and as you can see, it caused one."
The pipes "beat up" many of the people in the tent, Jenkerson said.
The tent was set up as a beer garden next to Kilroy's, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Eddie Roth, director of the St. Louis Department of Public Safety, said the tent had passed inspection and it didn't appear there would be any violation, although an investigation would continue, The Associated Press reported.
"I thought a train fell off the track," Art Randall, Kilroy's owner, told the Post-Dispatch. "We all ducked for cover. Everything was going sideways. I had metal chairs ripping across the beer garden."
"People were pushing and shoving," said Christy Eilermann, 42, of St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch reported. "The wind just picked up and they started dragging people inside."
Storms packing hail up to baseball-size hail slammed eastern Missouri and western Illinois on Saturday.
Weather spotters in O’Fallen, Baden and Lebanon, Ill., reported baseball-size hail, 2.75 inches, smashing car windshields and home windows at 4:22 CDT.
The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Daviess, Knox and Martin counties in southwest Indiana and severe thunderstorm warnings for east-central Missouri and south-central Illinois.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Woman fighting foreclosure arrested in appeal to Wells Fargo CFO
- Lawyers argue over sex tape at John Edwards trial
- Nuclear plant knocked offline by jellyfish-like creatures
- Lawyer: Autistic boy's teacher didn't call him 'bastard'
- World record holder for 'longest time to live with a bullet in the head' dies
Leave a Comment:
Sad day for St Louis. It angers me that this bar didn't make sure there were necessary precautions in place for something like this.
YES it is a sad day
The saddest part is if they would stop being stupid and allow people to smoke inside while having a beer there wouldn't be people outside in tents.....I mean people that don't even smoke usually smoke when drinking............Open up a bar in a state that allows smoking and see how many people come...........I think you should be able to smoke pot too........In Philly thank God if you are a private club you can smoke...And guess what everywhere is a private club now.......I know it is a shame if you have to work in these places and don't smoke because it does cause cancer....Well guess what I am a plumber and bringing you all clean water,gas for your furnace and hot water and taking away your waste has put me in very close contact with carcinogens that are way worse....Get a new job if you can't hack it..........I am a third generation plumber and my son is the fourth my Grandfather and father dealt with the cancers and I will probably be next ( I am thirty seven and at 35 already had cancerous polyps removed and I have this nasty growth on my finger I wiped solvent weld joints with, the gloves always got holes) but this is the way I make money and do good for the public...................Bartenders and servers also do good,especially in places that you can smoke and drink inside........Anybody ever realize what a good mental health professional these people are ? Not to mention the old guys who disappeared from the bars in Maryland I used to stop at.....Hell the bars closed down too.....Don't need so many when it is better and cheaper to drink at a buddy's garage or at home.......................Of course there is nobody to counsel those people from beating there dog,wife or kids..............The government is asking us to make too many social changes and that goes for both sides of the aisle.............
Wow, sw philly. So instead of whoever decided this would be a good place to seat people on a stormy, windy day isn't to blame? Instead it is those who didn't want to be smoked on and the law that is there to keep people from getting sick? Not the people who built an unsafe place for the public to be? Not the fire or rescue people who hate those buildings but no laws are made so they have to be stronger? Not the people who had to have seen a storm coming, but stayed outside anyway?
Really, you just had to come rant about your frustrations, and this isn't about anyone killed or hurt. It's just because you are pissed you don't get to smoke inside. Be honest. You just wanted to complain about not getting to smoke. It isn't the non-smoking policy's fault or the ones who enacted it, but whoever built that place that wasn't safe in a storm or whoever let the people stay out there. Go to philly and smoke in your private club all you want. This is about people being hurt and killed by a tent falling apart.
What I was trying to say and don't think I did was simply that we don't know who did what, why, and if there is a particular group or person to blame. How about we let the police figure out of that is blame to be placed?
I don't think it is the fault of the owner of this building. I am in St. Louis. When weather is THAT bad, you don't stay outside under a tent. You get inside.
No kidding sixx....I lived in Kansas for many years and we watched thunderstorms for whether we needed to head to the basement because the HOUSE was not safe enough. Condelences to the family of the person who died.
Ram---you are the one ranting not me ......I can smoke in the bar in Philly and I don't have to suffer in the tent and these people suffered that is for sure..........I am not blaming it on anyone unlike you blaming it on the people who got hurt.....And looking for government(Police) to place blame............I just think it is stupid to make the majority in this situation( Alcohol serving establishment patrons) suffer for the three people who don't smoke......Ironically it is the GOP minded people (Stay outta my business,let the free market decide ) who are advocating these stupid laws......
Like I said I can smoke in Philly, the birthplace of freedom........And the first stop for freedom on the underground railroad................
SW Philly.... WHO CARES IF YOU CAN SMOKE IN PHILLY... WE DON'T.... Of Course your one of those RUDE Smokers that want to have the right to make other people miserable with your cigarette smoke.... STAY IN PHILLY.... WE do not need you here in ST. LOUIS....smoke.. The Smoke is harmful to anyone and if you want to die of cancer then go for it.. There are people that do not want to die from cigarette smoke..
Glad to see you aren't ranting about something off-topic...lol. So go smoke in Philly then and let the people who want to talk about this article do it. Why go on about something in St. Louis? Happy ranting..lol. I didn't blame it on anyone. You did. I have no idea and wasn't there. You were the one placing blame, actually.
Well Debra arent you the righteous one, freedom means just that ,smoke drink, or pot whatever enjoy your habits and die happy lol what is your problem girl. A green apple and a good root would probably fix your problem
How was they to know this was gonna happen...it was just a weather deal...Talk to God eh, he ruined there beer drinking game. RIP to the dead guy and God Bless the injured...these things happen at time, no one to blame really.
sw, where did it say that they wouldn't allow people to smoke? This was a tent outside where people were celebrating a baseball win. I personally wouldn't have been outside with the chance of tornadoes at a tent celebrating. I don't blame the bar, I blame the folks who are stupid enough to be out there and not pay attention to the weather report. Common sense is long gone.
SWPhilly isn't ranting... that's the way they talk to each other. You know... the City of Brotherly love and all that. Lived in Philly for years... nice people. Wicked sports fans with short tempers... Get on their wrong side or disagree with them and they get a gang together in short order and be the piss out of you. That's how they settle disagreements.
@sw philly; Yea and i had eggs for breakfest with 2 peices of toast, more than likely i`ll have pizza 4 lunch, suppose to rain today so i`ll have salmon tommrow after i wash my car and finish my bag of sunflower seeds, don`t like the Yankees but i like shrimp, im also a plumber and an Eagles fan! oh yea read the warning on the side of the box of those things you smoke, it might give you some insight about ?
First of all the Cards lost yesterday so they weren't celebrating a win. Second the town is New Baden. You can smoke inside in St. Louis so it wasn't about a place to smoke. This storm moved in very fast. It wasn't even supposed to hit St. Louis. It was supposed to stay north.
Hey John! Doesn't that look like some really bad weather headed this way? Should we cancel the event?
Don't worry Paul, this tent will stand up to anything mother nature throws at us!
I hope this time someone goes to jail.
Go to jail for what? I am an adult, and I can make my own decision on whether or not to go to an event. I am old enough to take responsibility for checking the weather and knowing if I should go out or not. This is horrible that people are hurt, but they are at fault for not taking their own precautions if anyone is at fault. I, for one, will not be hanging out under a tent in a storm. I hope the rest of the injured recover quickly.
Okeeboy, you hope someone goes to jail b/c somebody didnt know to take cover in a storm?
Before anyone jumps to conclusions about who was responsible for what, why don't we just wait a bit and let the police investigate? Why don't we see what happened? For all we know these people were told everything was safe. Or it could be that the owners suggested people leave but they made a choice to stay. Obviously none of us where there.
I live just south of St.Louis. It's sad that everyone wants to point the finger, but the only ones who should be blamed, are the ones who thought it was a good idea to sit outside during the storm because they could have stayed inside and kept from getting hurt.
Hope the ones who were injured and the ones who were severly injured, recover quickly.
But the man had been confirmed to have suffered a heart attack and it could have easily happened at anytime but it was a shame that it had to have happened because of this.
I think Okeeboy is refering to the disater at the Sugarland concert last year when there were high wind advisories & several people were injured & killed because the people in charge waited too long to warn them & the whole stage collasped. Although it was a permanant stage -belonging to the fair, Sugarland was found liable for it, not the fairgrounds! If there are warnings of high winds that owners KNOW COULD CAUSE DAMAGE, they should be held liable for anything that happens because of their negligence!!
Ban This type of Building... its that simple....
Okeeboy, I'm guessing you are one of the many sue-happy people in this country. Also guessing you can't make any grown-up conscious decisions either.
I live about 12 mins from Busch Stadium. It got pretty ugly for a few minutes but the forecast was chance of rain and possible severe storms. Sirens went off and there was a report of a funnel near U City. There was warning and it was their decision to stay in that tent. BTW it's spring in the Midwest, nothing different from the norm. It's a shame that people got hurt but these things happen, it's a process of life. Unless you chose to live in a bubble.
differnet, you are certainly special. I wouldn't let anyone convince me that taking shelter in a tent during a severe storm capable of producing tornadoes, was a good idea. You may fall for it but I certainly would not.
Ban tents....that's funny.
Agree, indeed sad.. but I have to ask; when you see a storm approaching why on earth would you remain outside and under a tent no less? hindsight I realize but this is so preventable. Very sad.hope the others are doing ok and thoughts for the deceased man's family.
Because thats how those Braindead Corporate people actually Think ~ !!! Thats another reason only those in Corporate have those Higher Education Degrees, sometimes known as Over-Glorified Education, College Degrees, and ya wonder why a lot of Americas companies are in trouble now days, sure isn't because of the Janitor, or the receptionist, or the mechanic, or the sales clerk, or the truck driver, or fork lift operator,, YIP, You guessed it, "Corporate People" ~ !!
You are correct but it seems like people who live in more urban areas don't pay much attention to what Mother Nature is doing around them. For the comments that feel 'someone' should have done something about this, at what point do people actually start taking responsibility for their own actions, or in this case, lack thereof? A case can be made that everyone present had the opportunity to listen to the weather forecast for the day or kept an eye out for what the sky looked like. Would think those who live in the Mid West would really pay attention to this stuff and not rely on a bartender to tell you to head for solid shelter with this kind of a storm. Just hope those who were injured get through this alright.
@jet7------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ how were/our the politicians to blame for the general public's STUPID, IDIOTIC behavior? I do not blame everyone else if I get caught in a rainstorm/windstorm it is called Personal responsibility.
Alcohol and bad weather don't mix. The only exception would be a hurricane.
Maybe god just don't like bars in St. Louis, crap mother nature moves in mysterious ways. no one canbe prepared all the time.
everyone involved should have known about the weather , im sure it was on the radio and tv that bad weather was in the area, if the drinking is more important than safty than this happens
What kind of precautions did you expect the bar to have? A fallout shelter?
This was the exact opposite of a shelter -- people were in, and ran into, a TENT. A charitable view is that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Simple thought process of, "wow, the clouds look threatening, time to get inside somewhere" instead of waiting for high winds and hail to hit, would have sufficed. I'm sorry for the family of this deceased man, but how frustrating it must be, knowing that just getting inside somewhere at the first sign of this storm would have prevented it.
Another cheap promoter using cheap materials and cheap labour. Try hiring professionals especially since you are in tornado alley.
When will these @!$%#sters learn?
What made you come up with that conclusion? An outdoor event with a tent and a storm rolls through. I don't think the quality of tent or "cheap labor" would make a difference. Tent's are not designed to stand up in a storm.
I happen to know that these kind of accidents can be unpreventable, but having put up tents for a living, I would say a serious investigation into the condition of the tent and it's assembly should probably be considered.
Tents can withstand some wind and storms, but you NEVER can guarantee that they WILL withstand it. It is a temporary structure. Even when all standard precautions are made to stake it down, these types of incidents can occur. From the looks of the tent destroyed, it appears to be a Frame tent with 2" aluminum frame work. This is standard to the industry. It is a devastating incident no doubt, and more devastating for those injured or killed. Please, people, if you are at an outdoor event, please do not rely on a temporary structure to protect you from harsh weather. Move to safety inside a building.
I know when I see a tornado coming that I go and hide in my trusty storm tent, elkhaircaddis. Geez, it's a freaking tent and people are shocked that it wont hold up in a tornado.
Are you mental? It's a beer tent, they do this all the time for games. Again, it's a fn' tent! What do you think would happen in a high wind situation?
elkhair statement ranks up there with the dumb ones.
drunks don't care about weather
How upsetting to log into your computer and see a headline like this. What a tragic thing to happen. My thoughts and prayers to family members of the injured. I hope they will be alright. My sincere condolences to the family that lost a loved one.
THIS ,,, is upsetting to you? A bunch of idiots drinking under a tent during a storm and with everything else in the world THIS upsets you?
Why does THAT upset you bluthunder?
Go do your part for world peace and runaway beer tents and save the energy you use on indignation for something useful.
It does not upset me at all it AMAZES me that this could upset anyone.
Yes, true, unfortunatly when drinking, common sense goes out the window but I don't want to assume all were drunk,that'd be unfair but it was a bar. Most don't go to bars for the peanuts
So many people eager to blame to bar owner, sue them, or see someone in jail. We're not going to blame the people who decided to hang out in an outdoor tent during a heavy storm? Yes, it's sad. But we've become a nation of blame and no responsibility.
If I was gona drink it wouldnt be in a tent on a hot afternoon with thunderstorms coming.
dang the weather is bad.... that's life
I hope they had some fun for at least a little while.
Lots of assumptions above. You people have all the patrons drunk, the storm broadcast accurately for days, and the bar owners 100% negligent.
.
It occurred to me that some of the injuries could be from baseball sized hail.
.
Can we please wait for the facts this time?
.
Fast recovery to the injured.
I would figure that most of the injuries were hail related or from being trampled. 100 people packed in a tent and chaos don't mix.
The idiots are out tonight. Baseball size hail and straightline winds is what we are having.
You just never know when your number is up. Sad.
Mother Nature will always find a way to destroy something.
It never fails, whenever we high gusts here in Southern CA, there's always some horrific devastation somewhere in the mid-west a few days later. My prayers go out to those affected.
OOOOPS Didnt know my FARTS were that powerful....Thats what you get for being a bunch of fat lazy drunken alcoholics sitting under a $19.99 tent from walmart. ILMAO!
You sound like an angry Cubs fan.
Joe:
you sound like a real Rocket Scientist.
What a DUMB comment!!!!!!!!!
I live in Creve Coeur (just outside of St. Louis city) and the weather got really bad really quickly. Some hail smashed out my neighbors back car window. My Jeep's hood got a little dinged up too.
Sad that these people were hurt and one killed. Sad too that people are already tossing blame around.
Condolences and prayers go to the victim's family and friends. Pray that God-speed recovery goes to those who wounded.
Pray that next time they will check and continue to monitor the weather report for the coming storm, especially when the storm is on the horizon.
If the bad weather is coming, cancel the event.
Oh Goody!! Lawsuit, Lawsuit!!!!
Pitiful whiners in this line and you "they should have known" addicts stand and shout over there.
For those commenting that they should have known, these people were at a baseball game. The music was so loud they couldn't hear a storm approaching. The fault lies with the bar not notifying them.
They HAD been at the game, but how long had they been celebrating in the tent? The music you speak of wouldn't have much bearing on people who are constantly texting and checking the net on their phones. No one should have needed to tell them . . . LOOK UP! LOOK OUT! SEE THE WIND BLOWING TREES AND FLAGS? FEEL IT BLOWING HARD? HEAR THE THUNDER? SEE THE DARKENED SKY? Sorry for shouting, but loud music and a bunch of people talking shouldn't have kept them from noticing the weather conditions. I'm sorry for those who were injured, and for the fatality's family. Instead of blaming everyone, why not chalk it up to the weather? Was a small tornado involved? The tent was put up for the overflow as well as those who might want to smoke. Who would have thought such strong wind and large hail would hit downtown? We all know that things can happen fast, furious, or just dissipate. We St Louisans know all about changeable weather . . . .
I'm with you JustDonna! I'm sitting here thinking, how STUCK ON STUPID can people get! I KNOW they had to KNOW that a Storm was coming, for if most TV stations are like the ones here in Oklahoma, besides Ad's/Commercials, there is nothing but WEATHER REPORTS, after WEATHER REPORTS! It's downright sickening what is on TV these days!
If I were the Insurance Company, I would DENY these Claims, because of downright STUPIDITY!
Tommy, it's getting very dark where I live. Wind is probably around 40-50 mph and stuff like garbage cans blowing everywhere. I'm going for a walk and if I don't make it back, blame my wife.