The responsibility for the deaths of 21 people who were crushed to death during a stampede in the E2 nightclub in 2003 lies squarely on the shoulders of the men eventually charged in the case, prosecutors said Tuesday.
During opening statements in the bench trial for three of the four men charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case, prosecutors described the now-shuttered South Side club as an accident waiting to happen.
“The [deaths] were all completely unnecessary if the people responsible for the E2 nightclub had taken responsibility that night,” Assistant Cook County State’s Atty. Robert Egan said.
Egan said on the evening of Feb. 17, 2003, E2 nightclub owner Calvin Hollins Jr., his son Calvin “Nicky” Hollins III, the floor manager, and promoter Marco Flores acted in a reckless manner that caused the deaths.
A fourth defendant, co-owner Dwain Kyles, also is charged in the tragedy, but his case is delayed until the Illinois Appellate Court rules on whether a Housing Court order can be used as evidence.
Egan said the club, at 2347 S. Michigan Ave., was packed with 1,152 people. He said he would have an expert testify that no more than 240 people should have been allowed in.
He said exit lighting was inadequate so patrons did not know two rear entrances were available. He also said security officials working that evening were improperly trained.
Egan said even though the club was known to be rough and routinely had several fights break out each evening, security officials did not know how to respond.
An officer, Sam Bone, who was caught in the middle of a fight and feared for his safety, sprayed Mace, triggering the stampede, Egan said. Without other clearly marked exits, people went down a steep flight of stairs and died, he said.
“Acting in a panic, they moved to the exit they knew, 1,152 people,” Egan said. “There were 21 people dead, all crushed to death, all on that stairway.”
In their opening statements, defense lawyers called it an accident and said criminal charges should never have been lodged in the case.
Todd Pugh, a lawyer for Calvin Hollins Jr., said different elements caused the panic. He said the DJ playing music at the time asked for Mace to be sprayed to break up a fight. He said patrons initially thought poison gas had been sprayed by terrorists and pushed others down the stairs. He also said people at the door were told to keep filling the club.
“All of these … have a common thread: each of them contributed to the events of that evening,” Pugh said. “It was like a perfect storm, [which] caused an absolute tragedy to occur.”
Prosecutors had planned to argue that the men had skirted a Housing Court order that prosecutors said closed the club.
But in a blow to their case, Cook County Criminal Court Judge Dennis Porter barred them from doing so, saying the order was ambiguous and would prejudice the jury that was seated to hear Kyles’ case.
