Notre Dame death probe report to be released

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Declan Sullivan died after the video tower he was working in blew over in strong winds

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Notre Dame has been levied a $77,500 fine in the death of Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan.

Sullivan was killed when the hydraulic lift he was on while taping Notre Dame football practice fell over in 53 mph winds. Indiana regulators fined the school for breaching several safety violations. The school failed in providing safe working conditions and also neglected the National Weather Service warnings.

The service warned of gusts up to 45 mph expected that day. Sullivan himself noted the dangerous conditions in his Twitter account an hour before his death. "Gusts of wind up to 60 mph today will be fun at work ... I guess I've lived long enough," he twittered. The school’s scissor lift was not supposed to be utilized in winds over 25 mph.

Indiana department of Labor Head, Lori Torres, noted that Notre Dame is at fault for putting the student at risk in the lift and not heeding the weather alerts.

The school was also fined for the failure to make inspections of the lifts; a failure to service the equipment as suggested by the manufacturer; and a failure to have an operator’s manual on the lift.

Warning labels were missing from the scissor lift or were worn or faded.

The school has until April to pay the fines, contest the charges, or meet with state regulators.

To avoid such incidents in the future, Notre Dame plans on installing remote-controlled  cameras at its outdoor fields starting on March 23rd. No longer will hydraulic lifts be utilized for taping football.

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