12 Injured When Roof of Dallas Cowboys' Practice Bubble Collapses
IRVING, Texas — Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was among 12 people injured Saturday when the roof of the team's indoor practice facility collapsed in a storm during a rookie minicamp, officials said at a news conference.
Witnesses said lights started flickering and shaking minutes before the collapse, prompting players, coaches, staff members and reporters to vacate the building. Several people were trying to exit the facility when the roof collapsed.
"I saw it coming down and didn't have time to react," secondary coach Dave Campo said. "I hit the ground and was able to get back up."
The storm was producing winds measured at 64 mph just before it struck the Cowboys facility, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris in Fort Worth. Power was out at the team's Valley Ranch headquarters.
DeCamillis was seen putting on a neck brace and being taken out of the team's main office building on a stretcher. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, in a TV interview from the Kentucky Derby, said 27 rookies were going through the workout. There were about 70 people in the facility, including coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.
"We're lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building," head coach Wade Phillips said. "A couple of players had minor injuries, but they were all right."
Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County, says he didn't think anybody had life-threatening injuries.
The roof is a large air-supported canopy with aluminum frames covering a regulation 100-yard football field. The team was going through the second of three days of workouts for rookie draft picks and free agents.
