Monday, July 17, 2000
Patrons helped injured in wine terrace collapse
By John Seewer
The Associated Press
MIDDLE BASS ISLAND, Ohio — Water and wine trickled through cracks in the floor. Bits of concrete tumbled onto rescuers searching frantically for survivors.
At the bottom of the rubble-filled pit, no one knew whether another avalanche of concrete and steel would bury them, too.
“We thought the whole structure was going to go,” said Laurie Imlay, a nurse who climbed into the mess to help.
The July 1 collapse of an outdoor terrace at the 136-year-old Lonz Winery dumped 100 people 20 feet into an empty wine cellar. One person died and 75 were taken to hospitals.
The rescue effort began when the injured ignored their own broken bones and bruises to help others out of the rubble. It continued as nurses and doctors sprinted to the winery from their lakefront cottages.
It didn't end until everyone was out.
Rescuers and survivors told stories of heroism and heartache.
The winery on Middle Bass Island was filled with young people in their 20s and longtime islanders guzzling wine by the bottle on the Fourth of July weekend.
Larry Read was playing sing-alongs on a piano inside the winery.
Then without warning the floor gave way.
Revelers sitting on picnic tables near the middle of the terrace dropped quickly and violently. Those on the edge slid down.
It was an eerie entanglement of bodies, concrete and steel.
“I could see arms and legs sticking out from under the concrete,” said Doug Dyer, who was standing 15 feet from the terrace when it fell.
He and others ran to the edge of the terrace. Not everyone moved to help right away.
“It was amazing how many people didn't move,” Mr. Dyer said. “Some just stood around like they were watching a movie. They had to be stunned.”
The first to help were those who were dumped into the pit.
George Prusock's initial thought was to get out fast when he stood up on his wobbly right knee.
Two 6-foot long chunks of concrete sat on either side of his shoulder.
“Six to 12 inches either way and I was dead,” he said.
Then he looked down and saw his friend Joe Phillips pinned under a Pepsi vending machine. Someone grabbed a board and shoved it under the machine to use as leverage.
“It had to be full because that thing was pretty heavy,” Mr. Prusock said.
“Three guys lifted it off, and two pulled him out,” he added. “I didn't see any of their faces.”
Others passed out bottles of water to clean cuts. They poured water on those badly injured to keep them from slipping into shock. They ripped doors off the bathroom stalls to use as stretchers.
“One, two, three” they counted out while trying to budge the 4-inch thick concrete covering friends and strangers. Many ignored their own bleeding cuts and sprains to move debris.
“They just didn't walk away,” said Troy Matevia, the first paramedic at the collapse. “They helped get people out.”
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Patrons helped injured in wine terrace collapse
