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Negligent Homicide Charges Recommended in N.H. Circus Tent Deaths

tent_collapse_jensen.jpg
Chris Jensen for NHPR
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  The New Hampshire fire marshal has recommended that negligent homicide charges be brought against the operator of a circus tent that collapsed last year in Lancaster, killing two people.

Bill Degnan said Tuesday he recommended felonies and misdemeanors to Coos County attorney John McCormick, who would determine which charges to bring before a grand jury. McCormick did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Forty-one-year-old Robert Young, and his 6-year-old daughter, Annabelle, of Concord, Vermont, died Aug. 3, 2015, when a storm blew through the Lancaster Fairgrounds, toppling the tent just minutes after about 100 people had settled in for a show. Fifty people were injured.

Walker International Events, of Sarasota, Florida, has contested fines proposed by federal safety officials for the collapse. A listed number is no longer in service.

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