AP: 3 Acquitted in Chicago Club Stampede

[Eugene]

Associated Press
3 Acquitted in Chicago Club Stampede
By MICHAEL TARM 03.02.07, 12:44 PM ET

A nightclub owner, manager and party promoter were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter
Friday in the 2003 stampede that killed 21 people at Chicago's E2 club.

Judge Dennis Porter agreed with defense attorneys that prosecutors had not proved their
case, said Tandra Simonton, a Cook County state's attorney's spokeswoman.

The Feb. 17, 2003, stampede started after someone used pepper spray to break up a dance-
floor fight, sending a mob of people fleeing down narrow stairs to an exit, authorities said.
The force of the bodies piling against the doors prevented them from being opened. More than
50 people were injured.

Those acquitted are club owner Calvin Hollins Jr., club manager Calvin Hollins III and party
promoter Marco Flores. Another club owner, Dwain Kyles, is being tried separately and was not
affected by Friday's decision, Simonton said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/03/02/ap3479819.html