(KMOV) -- When storms blew into downtown St. Louis on
Saturday afternoon, Alfred Goodman was in the Kilroy's beer garden tent with
his brother. Kenny Goodman told family
members that he noticed a gust of wind lift up part of the tent. Kenny Goodman reached down to hold onto a
pole, in an effort to keep the tent in place, but heard his brother say that it
would be impossible to hold it down.
Seconds later they were both knocked to the ground.
Kenny Goodman suffered a bruised eye. His brother, Alfred, was dead. He was 58 years old.
Alfred Goodman's daughter, Courtney Bell, says her father
was a retired iron worker who worked on the JB and McKinley Bridges. He was married to his wife for 36 years and
they raised three girls who are now 27, 29, and 33 years old. He was an active member of the Waterloo
Sportsmans Club and helped launch the non-profit's popular Haunted Trail and
Hayride.
The Waterloo man was the only fatality in the tent collapse
during storms that followed the Cardinals, Brewers game on Saturday. About 100 others were injured and treated at
the scene for cuts and bruises.
Seventeen people were taken to the hospital. By Sunday afternoon, nine remained
hospitalized with two in the intensive care unit.
Bell says speculation that her father suffered a heart
attack during the tent collapse is not true.
Doctors told the family that the man may have suffered a lightning
strike. The medical examiner told the
family that Goodman also suffered a contusion to the head. An investigation into the exact cause of
death is underway.
City officials said the overflow tent at Kilroy's was
erected just before Opening Day. Tents
that are larger than 1,000 square feet have to obtain a permit from the
city. Kilroy's was granted one on April
11th, according to Building Commissioner Frank Oswald. The city inspects tents to determine if there
are enough exits and if they're well marked, but city inspectors do not look at
whether the tent was erected under manufacturer specifications. That work is up to the contractor, said
Oswald.
The tent was supposed to be able to withstand winds of up to
90 miles per hour, according to Oswald.
A National Weather Service storm summary report said winds reached 50
miles per hour, downtown, on Saturday afternoon.
