SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A strong gust of wind swept across Notre Dame's practice football field before a tower toppled, killing a student who had been videotaping the team from the tower, the university's athletic director said Thursday.
Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old junior from Long Grove, Ill., died Wednesday at a South Bend hospital after the hydraulic scissor lift he was on fell over at the LaBar practice complex. Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick promised there would be a full investigation, but did not say who was responsible for allowing the student to use the lift.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the accident, Swarbrick described a normal practice that quickly became chaotic on Wednesday. He said he was walking along the football field when suddenly, the wind picked up and equipment began flying.
"I turned to face north and experienced a pretty extraordinary burst of wind. Things started flying by me that had been stationary for all of practice — Gatorade containers, towels, etc. I noticed the netting by the goal post start to bend dramatically and I heard a crash," he said.
Swarbrick said training staff, medical trainers, coachers, players responded to Sullivan, but after emergency workers arrived, the team went back to the field so the rescuers could help the student. Sullivan was taken to a South Bend hospital, but Swarbrick said he received a call from the ambulance before it arrived that Sullivan was no longer breathing.
The National Weather Service said winds in the area were gusting to 51 mph at the time when the hydraulic scissor lift, which can be lowered or raised depending on needs, fell over. The football team had practiced indoors the day before because of the blustery conditions caused by a fierce storm.
It was not clear specifically who authorized Sullivan to go up in the scissor lift to videotape Wednesday's practice, but Swarbrick said it was the decision to practice outside was left up to individual programs at the university. As a student worker, Sullivan reported to a video coordinator associated with the team.
