Tower Collapse Kills Notre Dame Student

His tweets reveal panic about safety in heavy winds atop structure
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 28, 2010 1:21 AM CDT
Tower Collapse Kills Notre Dame Student
Notre Dame emergency personnel examine the location where a tower used to video Notre Dame football practice fell over.   (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

A Notre Dame student filming football practice was killed when the video tower he was on collapsed yesterday. Declan Sullivan, 20, was shooting the practice for the university's Department of Athletics when the hydraulic scissor lift, which stretched higher than the goal posts, toppled over, reports the South Bend Tribune. Shortly before his death Sullivan tweeted about his panic on the tower in wind gusts over 50 mph. “Holy f***k, holy f***k this is terrifying," he posted. Earlier, he tweeted: “Gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Well today will be fun at work. I guess I've lived long enough.”

University officials didn't immediately comment on the safety issues. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Declan’s family and friends," said the school's head football coach. "Declan was a diligent student worker in our video department, and had a tremendous personality and great sense of humor. He brightened the days for all who had the privilege to work with him."
(More Notre Dame stories.)

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