Stage collapse reports may not come until April

INDIANAPOLIS — A pair of high-level investigations into the fatal Indiana State Fair stage collapse may not be released in time to help prepare for next year's fair.

Indiana State Fair Executive Director Cindy Hoye told a group of lawmakers Tuesday that information from separate investigations into the stage collapse that killed seven people may not be complete until mid-April. The state has typically done much of its work for its three-week-long summer fair by that point.

The state hired international engineers Thornton Tomasetti to investigate the wreckage of the stage. The state also hired Witt Associates to assess the fair's emergency preparations.

Hoye says Witt's work is almost complete but will not be released until Thornton's work is finished next year.