Reports will address what, why of Fair tragedy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Thursday morning, we will learn the results of two key investigations into the Aug. 13 State Fair stage collapse .

One will come from Thornton Tomasetti, a New York-based engineering firm that was hired to look into the mechanics of collapse. Their report should answer questions like "Was the stage roof erected properly?" and "Was the rigging used according to specifications?"

KEY PLAYERS | Know the names that will come up in the reports.

The second report will come from Witt & Associates, based out of Washington, D.C. They were hired to look at the policies and procedures put in place by the Fair Commission to run the State Fair. Their investigation should show whether those policies and procedures in place were adequate and whether or not they were followed.

Seven people died and dozens were injured when the roof over the grandstand stage collapsed during the Aug. 13 storm just before Sugarland took the stage.

Hours after the tragedy, Gov. Mitch Daniels described the collapse as a fluke event and blamed the weather.

Days later, he was asked to explain that characterization.

"Every passing day I learn things. There's been some erroneous things reported, as you will discover. There were things done that people thought were not. Maybe there were some things left undone that should have been," Daniels said.

24-Hour News 8's Jay Hermacinski then asked the governor what he found out that was erroneous.

Daniels replied: "I'm going to leave that for the commission. That's who you need to ask all these questions to.”

We did. One error we uncovered was the fact that the Fair Commission didn't follow its own severe weather protocol. The policy says concertgoers should have been told severe weather was moving into the area. They were not.

Four days after the collapse, Fair Commission spokesperson Andy Klotz addressed the issue .

"That there was a severe thunderstorm warning issued? That wasn't said in that statement," he said, continuing: " ... doesn't follow the to the ‘T’ the protocol."

Eight months later, the release Thursday of the two independent investigation reports should provide in-depth information and better answers to the question of what happened Aug. 13 and, most importantly, why it happened.