[kjohnson28]

INDIANAPOLIS -- Stories of the victims who died in a stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday night are beginning to emerge, painting a picture of five people whose lives were taken in unspeakable tragedy.
Tammy Vandam, 42, of Wanatah; Glenn Goodrich, 49, of Indianapolis; Alina Bigjohny, 23, of Fort Wayne; Christina Santiago, 29, of Chicago; and Nathan Byrd, 51, of Indianapolis, were killed when thunderstorm wind gusts of up to 70 mph toppled the rigging over the stage before a planned concert performance of the country music band Sugarland.
On her Myspace page, Bigjohny described herself as someone who loved to smile and spend time with family and friends, 6News' Ebone Monet reported.
She had been a student at Manchester College and was recently hired to teach in Muncie, the Journal-Gazette reported.
Teacher Dennis Craft said he's mentored Bigjohny in a student teacher program.
"All the kids really liked her, cared about her. It's just one of those very sad days for a lot of people," he said. "She was a friendly, caring person, everything you want a teacher to be."
Goodrich was a father of two children. His friends and family described him as a good man with a twinkle in his eye.
Family members were too heartbroken to be interviewed on camera, but they told 6News that he always looked out for others and lunged to help save a little girl as the stage came crashing down.

[kellyhound]

Christina Santiago, left, program manager of Howard Brown Health Center's Lesbian Community Care Project, was killed and her partner, Alisha Marie Brennon, was critically injured when a stage collapsed Saturday night at the Indiana State Fair.

<center>

[kellyhound]

One of Vandam’s family members says she got a call at 5:30 a.m. Sunday with the news about her sister’s death.

She says just the night before, the family was watching coverage of the stage collapse; they didn’t even know Vandam was at the concert.

Neighbors say Vandam leaves behind a teenage daughter and a loving legacy.

“They're a very close-knit family, they live locally, just north of us,” said neighbor Christine Walter. “They’re a very kind caring, family. Tammy was a great mother.”

[Kim]

Yet another reason to avoid state fairs.

[kellyhound]

Goodrich, 49, a married father of two boys, worked a day job for Ike-lite Corp., an underwater camera and lighting equipment company.

But when picking second jobs to supplement his family's income, Marilyn Goodrich said, her son always chose security.

He worked events ranging from concerts at the Vogue in Broad Ripple to Indiana Pacers games.

"He loved being in that profession," said his sister, Gloria Barnes, Riverside, Calif. "He had a calling for that where he really liked helping be sure that people were safe."

Goodrich was born in Detroit and grew up in Indianapolis, one of four children, his mother said.

He attended Shortridge High School and took courses at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He and his wife, Heather, have two sons, 5 and 9.

[kellyhound]

Alina BigJohny, 23, was one of the 5 people who were killed by the stage that collapsed at the Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair Saturday night in Indianapolis. BigJohny graduated from Wayne High School in 2007.

She graduated from Manchester College this past spring. BigJohny was living in Indianapolis and had a job as a teacher's aide in an area school. Alina just turned 23 August 4.

<center>

[kellyhound]

As the spotlight operator, Nathan Byrd was perched in rigging high above the concert stage when a powerful gust of wind toppled the structure. He came crashing down with it.

Nathan Byrd, who would have turned 52 next month, died at Methodist Hospital on Sunday.

He was the father of two teenagers and the next-to-the-oldest brother in a close-knit family of six children.

"He was one of those people that had a magical power about him with gaining friends and influencing people -- everybody loved Nate," Randy said.

His brother also was an artist and the sort of guy who would give away his shirt, if someone asked for it. "This man lived his life for others."

And he loved his job operating stage lights, which allowed him to see a variety of concerts and shows that came through the city, said his sister, Marilyn Barfield, Mooresville.

"He loved being up there, doing that," Barfield said. "All of our lives, Nathan was so involved. He was just always constantly doing something. I think he had four hours of sleep every day of his life."

[souris]

oh well,

[SouthrnHunnix420]

This is some Final Destination shit. For real.

[ashlifuckedit]

kinda ironic how the last song that was sang was called "gravity"