SAN ANTONIO — A 79-year-old woman who was critically injured after the collapse of a section of bleachers at the Kendall County Fair Grounds has died after nearly a week in the hospital, the Kendall County fire marshal confirmed to KENS 5.
Family members and the Bexar County medical examiner identified her as Vera Smith of Waring, Texas, located in the Hill Country just north of Boerne.
“We are so thankful for the outpouring of prayers from the community over the last few days. God called Vera (Nana) home on Sept. 5. We are devastated by this tragic event that could have been prevented," a statement from Smith's family said. "We want Vera (Nana) to be remembered for the way she led her family with kindness and unconditional love.
"She was a pillar within the community. She dedicated her life and volunteered countless hours to serving others. She was a woman of deep faith. She will be greatly missed by all those who knew her. Please keep Vera and her family and friends in your prayers today.”
A report from the City of Boerne found that the refurbished section of bleachers should have been inspected in the days leading up to the chaotic collapse at the county fair last weekend, but it wasn't.
Authorities said eight people were hospitalized after the bleachers crumpled in on themselves Saturday night during a highly attended rodeo event, sparking a rush to help those trying to escape and placing further competition at the arena on hold for the foreseeable future.
All of the other victims in the collapse had been released from the hospital by earlier this week.
“While we are thankful that most of the injuries were non-life-threatening, this tragic event has affected our entire community," Boerne Fire Chief Manny Casarez said in the city's press release.
According to the City of Boerne, since the seating area constituted part of "an old structure that was salvaged" to feature new elements like a bar and VIP sections, fair organizers should have applied for a building permit that would have triggered an inspection.
Instead, the city's press release said, "the only permit applied for in relation to the event was a carnivals and fairs permit" submitted in early August. As a result, the fire marshal's review was limited to things like carnival ride, food trucks, fire extinguishers and exit areas.
That particular permit didn't trigger a review of the newly constructed bleachers area, welding work on which "was still occurring up to the day before the event," the city said. And the city's investigation found no building permits had been issued for the address since at least January 2023.
A 'nerve-racking' turn of events
It was 9:16 p.m. Saturday, the city said, when the bleachers area gave in. A group of fair-goers rushed to help hold up the mass of crumpled metal as those sitting in the area climbed down. One of those good Samaritans was Kyle Szuck, a veteran who was attending with his fiancé, April Cleghorn.
"It was very nerve-racking, very scary," Cleghorn said in the aftermath of the incident. "We have a lot of friends out here, my kids have a lot of friends out here. So the first thing I thought was this could be somebody we know."
First responders arrived soon after to tend to the injured and close off the area before an investigation could begin the next day.
A safety fence has now been installed around the collapsed seating area, and a structural engineer is expected to "evaluate and provide a report regarding the failed bleacher structure" to determine why it fell apart. That inspection is expected to be done in the next week.
In the meantime, the Kendall County Fair Association will have to prove the arena is code-compliant before the venue can be used again. The city says the association will also have to submit a demolition permit for the collapsed section and pay a fee for its "failure to apply for the required building permits" that would have triggered an inspection.
"We will apply the lessons learned from this event to improve our emergency management protocols, ensuring that we maintain the highest standards of safety for all community gatherings," the city's findings said.
