Akon Show Canceled After Stage Collapses
A free concert featuring R&B star Akon at Emory University in Atlanta was canceled Thursday afternoon after part of the outdoor stage collapsed during construction, injuring three people, two of them seriously, according to DeKalb County officials. "It's probable that the weight of the lighting may have contributed to the canopy falling," DeKalb County Fire Capt. Eric Jackson told Atlanta's WXIA-TV. "In the midst of trying to prepare to get everything ready—specifically to perform a sound check, is when the canopy that is on this temporary stage collapsed." Akon, who was to headline the school's annual Fall Band Party, was not there at the time. The accident occurred at about 5:15 p.m., after which police cordoned off the area near the Student Activity and Academic Center on Emory's Clairmont Campus. Fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital. There's no word yet on whether the Emory show will be rescheduled.