Dallas Cowboys’ indoor practice facility collapses during storm
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Twelve people were hospitalized after thunderstorm-spawned winds demolished the Dallas Cowboys’ indoor practice facility during a rookie minicamp Saturday afternoon. “You could see the whole roof roll up like a candy wrapper,” said Larry Rodriguez, a cameraman for KDFW-TV (Channel 4), who was filming when the structure collapsed with about 70 players, coaches, team support personnel and members of the media inside.
At least two of those hospitalized were in serious condition, said Dr. Paul Pepe, chairman of the emergency department at Parkland Memorial Hospital. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, he said.
Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis suffered broken vertebrae in his back, according to his father-in-law, one-time NFL coach Dan Reeves.
Reached by phone Saturday night, Reeves said DeCamillis was undergoing an MRI and a CT scan, along with further tests.
“It’s just lucky and fortunate and a miracle really he’s not paralyzed,” Reeves said.
No players were seriously injured in the collapse, which happened about 3:30 p.m., but three other Cowboys personnel were hurt: assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither, who suffered a broken leg; college scouting coordinator Chris Hall, whose arm was injured; and scouting assistant Rich Behm, who was in critical condition with unspecified injuries. All remained hospitalized Saturday night.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he saw DeCamillis before he was taken to an area hospital.
“He was moving his hands, and he was talking,” Phillips said.
Rodriguez, who suffered a gash on his left hand that required six stitches, remembered hearing cries from people under the tent-like roof of the structure.
Players, coaches and others scrambled to help those trapped.
“There were a lot of heroes out there in my mind, because all of those guys jumped right in there looking for people and trying to help people around them,” Cowboys secondary coach Dave Campo said.
“The players did a great job. They didn’t even hesitate. They went trying to find as many people as fast as we could.”
Pepe said 10 people were taken to the hospital. At least two checked themselves in. The Cowboys and hospital officials were not making the names of the injured available Saturday night.
“This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view,” Pepe said. “Right now, I think we don’t have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation.”
Team owner Jerry Jones cut short his visit to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky., and returned to Dallas on Saturday night.
“They did not get good warning there, and the structure did collapse,” Jones said in an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas shortly after the news broke.
Phillips said a couple of players suffered minor injuries.
Kicker David Buehler suffered a minor concussion, gashes in his forehead and right knee in addition to having skin ripped off his ear.
He had exited the facility through a side door when he was hit by a pole. He crawled to safety and then looked back.
“My initial thought was, ‘How many people are dead in this?’ I thought I was just a lucky one. I was just in shock,” Buehler said.
Hall had his arm pinned in the wreckage.
A 33-year-old man was impaled by an object and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Irving City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said. Two other people were taken to Parkland, one with a head injury and another who suffered neck and back injuries. Another person was at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas with an open leg fracture.
Five of the injured were taken to Las Colinas Medical Center, and two more walked in later.
“I think the worst we had was a dislocated shoulder,” said Owen DeWitt, director of marketing and information officer.
DeWitt said all were expected to be released soon.
It could have been potentially far worse, had the Cowboys been holding a full camp practice with more than 80 players in the building, instead of the 27 on hand Saturday.
“I think we’re very fortunate,” Campo said.
The Cowboys canceled today’s minicamp practice and will have a meeting for the players instead.
The storm also created other hazards, knocking out power at team headquarters and splintering trees across the property.
“We’re lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building,” Phillips said.
But it appeared that the damage was isolated, said Irving police spokesman Officer David Tull.
“There’s no structure damage anywhere but right here,” Tull said.
Wreckage from the 85-foot-tall white structure, built in 2003, was strewn across the ground, along with TV and football equipment. The giant blue star atop the building lay crumpled on the ground.
The collapse came on the second day of practice for the 12 players selected by the Cowboys in this year’s NFL draft. They were joined by undrafted free agents and several practice squad players from last season, all with dreams of a career in pro football.
Under threatening skies, the practice was moved indoors in the facility adjacent to the practice field.
Despite heavy rain, the practice continued as normal. Late in the practice, the storm outside intensified noticeably.
The building shuddered, and the overhead lights swayed, flickering on and off, as practice came to a halt. Then the collapse began as everybody crowded toward the exit.
“It was like somebody stuck a pin in a balloon,” said Arnold Payne, a cameraman for WFAA-TV (Channel 8). “It collapsed on all sides.
“It just imploded.”
The National Weather Service reported winds of more than 60 mph in the area, and a severe thunderstorm warning was issued about 3 p.m. But there was no sign of a tornado.
Meteorologist Jesse Moore of the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said the winds created a microburst. Such bursts, in which heavy wind and rain shoot straight down, can be mistaken for tornados, he said.
Paul Riggs, another TV cameraman inside the facility at the time, said he looked up and saw the roof falling.
“I sprinted harder than I have in decades,” he said.
Riggs said he got under a raised platform with several offensive linemen from the team.
“It fell around us,” he said. “Then it was pure chaos.”
Nick Eatman, a staff writer for DallasCowboys.com, was one of the first people out of the structure.
He paused for a moment, struggling with the door and wondering if it was better to exit into the storm. Then somebody yelled, “Go. Go.”
Said Eatman: “Before I knew it, we were all outside.”
Jason Odette, a student who lives near the facility, was outside as the storm passed through and watched in shock as the roof caved in.
“I did see the roof coming apart off the top of the building and just heard metal twisting and popping,” he said. “It had that spring-popping noise.”
Gonzalez said officials are trying to determine what caused the collapse.
“The rain came down very abruptly and sat on the top, and that might have been what caused it,” Gonzalez said.
As debris fell around him, Payne said he made a break for daylight, all the time mindful of his camera, which was still rolling.
“It happened so fast,” he said. “I was just trying to get out there at the same time rolling tape.”
Payne said people were ripping through the tarpaulin to get to those trapped underneath
“Everybody was helping everybody,” the cameraman said. “Everybody that could walk turned around to see how they could help.
“Everybody went into rescue mode.”
By CHUCK CARLTON, TODD ARCHER and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
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12 Hurt when Cowboys Canopy Collapses
Coach among injured in Cowboys’ roof collapse
IRVING, Texas – Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was among 12 people injured when winds just shy of tornado strength ripped through the roof of the team’s indoor practice facility during a rookie minicamp Saturday.
The storm hit while 27 players were going through workouts. There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.
Ten of the injured were taken by emergency vehicles. Two others went to hospitals on their own.
“This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view,” said Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County. “Right now, I think we don’t have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation.”
Former coach Dan Reeves, DeCamillis’ father-in-law, said the first-year Dallas coach has a couple of broken vertebrae in his lower back.
“They say he’s lucky not to be paralyzed,” said Reeves, adding that DeCamillis probably will have surgery. The coach was seen being removed on a stretcher wearing a neck brace.
The white, tent-like building is large enough to be seen from miles away. It was built in 2003, for Bill Parcells’ first season as coach.
Storms often make loud noises inside the so-called bubble, but this time overhead lights swayed violently. One of the team’s video staff was the first out the door, followed by Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. Eatman was hit by something and went down a few feet away, then heard someone screaming for help. He recognized it was Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News.
Eatman and colleague Josh Ellis tried freeing Archer but the structure wouldn’t budge. “It was like a car,” Eatman said. Then safety DeAngelo Smith and linebacker Brandon Williams were able to get it up just enough for Archer to squirm out.
“All I saw was blue jerseys,” said Archer, whose right elbow and legs were scraped. “I was trapped, I couldn’t move. Then those guys lifted it up — not very far, but I was able to move from my side to my back. … Once I got out of there, I looked back and the whole thing was down.”
Archer said that as he fled for shelter, other players appeared to be stepping through the debris looking for others in need of help.
Eatman said one of the swaying lights wound up more than two football fields away. The giant blue star atop the building lay crumpled on the ground. The storm knocked out power at team headquarters and splintered trees across the property.
Larry Rodriguez, a local television cameraman who was in the news several years ago after he was attacked by Kenny Rogers while filming the former Texas Rangers pitcher, was treated with six stitches for a cut on a hand.
“We checked and we can’t find any other damage than this particular location,” said David Tull, an Irving police spokesman. “The nearby area didn’t have any reports of structural damage.”
Names and details of their injuries were not released due to privacy issues.
“I saw it coming down and didn’t have time to react,” secondary coach Dave Campo said. “I hit the ground and was able to get back up.”
The storm was producing winds measured at 64 mph just before it struck the Cowboys facility, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris in Fort Worth. A weak tornado is in the range of 65-110 mph, according to NWS guidelines. Power was knocked out for less than an hour.
“We’re lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building,” head coach Wade Phillips said. “A couple of players had minor injuries, but they were all right.”
This was the second of three scheduled days of practices, but Sunday’s session has been canceled.
KDFW
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