Legal bills piled up after Lonz collapse

MIDDLE BASS ISLAND

It was mid-afternoon on July 1, 2000, when the terrace collapsed at Lonz Winery. 

Four days later, the lawsuits started rolling in.

Nearly 100 people fell into the storage cellar that day, becoming entangled in a knot of human bodies and rubble — monstrous concrete slabs, tables, vending machines and twisted metal.   

All told, 77 people suffered injuries, while Toledo resident Mark Reighard died. Ultimately, the terrace collapse took not just a physical toll, but financial, too.  

Read the full story in Saturday's Register, and read more about the Lonz Winery tragedy in this four-day series: 

Thursday
- The victims remember and state officials ponder the property's future 

Friday
- Emergency response and lessons learned 

Saturday
- What went wrong? Who had to pay? 

Sunday 
- Tragedy echoes in island's life and business