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 that 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, is also 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, located 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 that patrons did not know two rear entrances were available. He also said security officials working that evening were improperly trained.
Egan said that 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.
Sam Bone, an off-duty Illinois state trooper who was working security, was caught in the middle of a fight, feared for his safety and 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 deejay 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.
The order, which was issued in 2002, is still being litigated in Housing Court. At issue is whether the Housing Court judge closed down the entire bar or merely a mezzanine area in the club.
Kyles’ case was severed from the other three men’s after Egan filed an appeal seeking the Appellate Court’s reversal of Porter’s ruling. Kyles was allowed to leave the proceedings pending the ruling.
Before leaving, Kyles thanked his attorneys but said he wanted to get the case behind him.
“I would rather the trial go forward for the truth to come out and have my life back,” Kyles said after court. “This goes to the essence of the charges against me.”
As the proceedings began, several members of the victims’ families were in the courtroom. Dozens have filed civil lawsuits against the owners, Flores and others involved with the club.
Ron Bright’s sister, Latoya McGraw, was three months’ pregnant when she died. Bright said McGraw, 24, left behind a daughter, now 10, who still asks about her mother.
“She’s coping with it and we’re trying to support her,” Bright said. “Everybody’s reliving it, we just want it to be over with.”
Prosecutors plan to begin calling witnesses on Wednesday.
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csadovi@tribune.com
