Parents At Roof Collapse: ‘No one person was to blame.’

Courtney Francisco,

IREDELL COUNTY, NC — Police are preparing to release the accident report in the case of the North Iredell High School roof collapse Saturday.

24 South Iredell High School band members suffered broken bones, a foot amputation and head injuries.
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Monday, students and parents spoke with WCCB Charlotte after meeting with school officials and counselors.Β 
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While outsiders question the name of the driver who set the collapse in motion, victims aren’t ready to blame anyone.
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“It happened so fast, you really didn’t have time to react,” said Tammy Carroll. “You heard it, you saw it and we reached and got the children out that we could.”
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A moving truck carrying South Iredell’s band equipment to a competition hit North Iredell High’s awning Saturday. That’s when the concrete came crashing down.
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Parents say a person in front motioned the driver to move forward, thinking the truck was clear.
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“I’m very saddened that it happened, but I’m not angry,” said Carroll.
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The debris missed her son, Timothy.
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“We were there together as one family,” said Timothy. “We jumped in, we helped each other.”
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Two days later, he and his mom walked into a private meeting for parents and students to talk to counselors and school officials.
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At North Iredell High School, Principal Tammy Hays held the same meeting.
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“I haven’t heard any questions about why or the what’s,” said Hays. “Everybody knows it was an accident. So now they’re coming together to pray, to be together and help themselves heal.”
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Deputy Superintendent Dr. Melanie Taylor, PhD., says counseling is all the district could offer.
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“The students here, they saw a lot of things they shouldn’t have seen, and they all pitched in to try to help as much as they could,” said Dr. Taylor.
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Students raised more than $22,000 in one day on this Go Fund Me account to help the victims as they recover.
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“It was a very horrific incident that happened, but no one person was to blame,” said Carroll.
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South Iredell High School has the same concrete awning as the one that fell at North Iredell. Students say the school will remove it next year for safety reasons.