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Twitter Eerily Captures Notre Dame Student’s Last Thoughts

Oct. 28, 2010 4:14pm Meredith Jessup

Declan Sullivan

While videotaping a football practice during a wind storm, a 20-year-old Notre Dame junior died Wednesday after the tower where he was filming from collapsed underneath him.

Declan Sullivan, a junior from Long Grove, Ill., was rushed from the LaBar practice complex to a South Bend hospital, but later died from his injuries, according to news reports.

Sullivan worked with the Notre Dame football squad in the video department. As wild storms passed through the Midwest Wednesday, Sullivan’s Tweets described the frightening conditions. “Gust of wind up to 60mph well today will be fun at work … I guess I’ve lived long enough :-/,” he joked at 3:22 p.m., just as practice was getting started.

His next message was posted at 4:06 p.m. as the young man was frozen with fear. “Holy f— holy f— this is terrifying,” he wrote. About 20 minutes later, Sullivan’s camera tower collapsed, crashing through a fence 30 feet below as winds in the area gusted to 51 m.p.h.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Declan’s family and friends,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. “Declan was a diligent student worker in our video department and had a tremendous personality and great sense of humor. He brightened the days for all that had the privilege to work with him, and the Notre Dame football family will dearly miss him.”

Senior linebacker Brian Smith posted his thoughts to his own Twitter page, noting it had been a “sad day at practice.”

“In the midst of a season where you are disappointed with the outcomes … you can lose sight of what’s most important,” Smith wrote. “I will never forget today.”

Authorities are reportedly investigating the incident. A campus Mass was said in Sullivan’s memory on Thursday.

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Comments (56)

...............R..U..Kidding...Me
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 11:57pm
This is just another example of how kids are too afraid to take responsibility for themselves. Why didn’t he just say “F this!” and get down or to safety. Parents, it’s your fault if you don’t tell your kids to watch out for themselves, protect themselves, listen to themselves first and then, DO THE RIGHT THING!

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EqualJustice
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 9:56pm
Such a shame that boy didn’t go with his gut and get down from there. Senseless death. Prayers for the family and friends. :(

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dontbotherme
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 9:38pm
I don’t care how “stupid” some of us think this is and how we wish to affix blame, now is the time to be in prayer & have sympathy for his friends & family & for those in charge who will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. One second of time making a choice … there but for the grace of God go I.

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powhatan
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 8:49pm
when we are young, we think we are invincible…So sad. I will pray for his family.

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Johnnyyuma
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 8:38pm
Do your children and grandchildren pledge allegiance to the flag every day at school? Mine do, check with your children then if necessary have them ask their teacher if they can pledge each morning… Start an old custom back up, and maybe we can start teaching our schools we are watching them…

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truthfully
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 8:21pm
This is sad…God Bless his family

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missionarydad
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 8:17pm
This is such a tragic accident and he was just too young to die. May God bless his family and all I can say is wow what dedication. I guess it was very important to this young man to get the job done, but I agree with some of the other statements, where was the adult here. Someone should have came and told him ” I really appreciate your willingness to put your life on the line to film the practice, but you need to get down before this thing tips over. Look I do not want to point fingers as I know the entire Notre Dame campus are very devastated over what happened here, but there does come a point where you have to put safety ahead of what you are wanting to accomplish. Pray for him and his family.

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BassLakeCharlie
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 7:50pm
I have rented these and been up on them myself,, there are freaking’ stickers on them saying: ” Do Not Operate in Uplifted Positions in Wind Conditions Over 20 MPH” !!! That poor kid must’ve been scared spitless…. God be with him….

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Mary M. Tebbe
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 7:19pm
How sad. We have also had some horrific winds for the last couple of days which took out our power. It is sad to see such a young life taken before its time. :(

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eteme
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 7:02pm
Reason is likely absent in the mind of a bona fide challenge…This was a needless tragedy.

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washington dclxvi
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:58pm
I can top that: in a wind storm, one in which he was terrified, why the heck did he waste his time texting and tweeting. just another dumb kid glued to his fake 15 minutes and his phone.
stupid kids.

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DivineMomentsOfTruth
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:29pm
Teach your kids to Never worry about being fired by an employer or shamed by a school official into doing something they know is life-threatening!

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- UlyssesP
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:44pm
  You have an important point.
  
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- RaisingANewLeader
  Posted on October 29, 2010 at 8:51am
  That is what I just told my wife after reading and watching this. Kids need to learn when an adult is wrong, which is hard to do, but if you raise them right, they have respect to guide their thoughts too. If you are scared, lay the reasons why out, and you should be able to bring reason to one side or the other. To many schools are raising kids to follow blindly where they are pointed to follow.
  
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Capt_Spalding
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:24pm
Well ya can’t not get practice footage cuz then you might lose a GAME! How frickin’ sick. Folks priorities are out of control. God bless his family during this tragic time.

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- istillbelieveinmyUSA
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:34pm
  House of 1000 Corpses fan????
  
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- PJPony
  Posted on October 29, 2010 at 7:23am
  I agree. We all know football ALWAYS comes before our kids. Jus like having practice in 100+ degree weather. Isn’t it time kids came before the game?
  
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CatB
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:09pm
RIP .. I have to wonder why he stayed up 20 minutes past “terrified” .. probably has something to do with youth being indistructable. Prayers to his friends and family …So Sad

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DagneyT
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:05pm
The old saying goes, “The good die young.”. This sounds like some proof to that theory.

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HillCountryPatriot
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:58pm
An unnecessary risk produced a senseless tragedy. I’ll pray for him and his family.

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KimNTennessee
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:52pm
God Bless his family. How tragic to know your son was so terrified right before the end. My prayers are with them.

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NickDeringer
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:51pm
Sadly, he should have prayed to God instead of the Holy F—-

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- Hugh Williams
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:14pm
  Does that mean you think the tower would not have collapsed if he had? When it is you time it is your time.
  
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- Venom
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:21pm
  He was terrified, get over yourself you self righteous *****.
- NickDeringer
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 7:10pm
  @Venom
  
  Jesus loves you.
  
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thestickman
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:51pm
Sad the kid lost his life. Gotta wonder if he was a darwin award winner though for being in that tower during that kind of wind.
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OK3Wire
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:48pm
Yeah, it’s been freakin’ windy around here the last two days. The storm rolled through, breaking off limbs and blowing leaves, and yesterday the high winds remained. Totally nuts that ND even allowed the lift to be used in that wind. Even the poor squirrels outside my office window were hunkered down.

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john seven eighteen
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:48pm
That just breaks my heart, but it greatly angers me that someone was bright enough to know that you NEVER raise a scissor lift in windy conditions. I worked with those and other types of lifts for years and saw way too many accidents, many resulting in deaths. There will be a huge lawsuit for sure.

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thebitter1
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:47pm
This is sad indeed. Why didn’t anyone react or call this practice? Where’s the responsible adult here?

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- nordspan
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:37pm
  First, I am sorry to his family for his loss. He was an adult and kid, scared and stupid. I’m sure we’re all remembering absolutly stupid things we’ve done and things were we each “could have very well” been killed. If there are mitigating cercumstances that point fault elsewhere, I hope that they come to light, but for the sake of letting the family have a peace, I wish them the very best.
  
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zagfan
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:47pm
Pray for this young man’s soul, his family, friends and Notre Dame. It is always hard to imagine a loss of such a young, healthy person under any circumstances…It’s not for us to question, but to believe that God has plans and they will be revealed when the time is right.

Until then…pray!

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AndrewOH
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:43pm
Tragic. May God be with him and his family.

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istillbelieveinmyUSA
Posted on October 28, 2010 at 4:43pm
In a wind storm, why the hell was he in a tower!! Who is watching out for these students?

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- snowleopard3200
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:03pm
  May the Lord comfort and sustain this family in their time of need, and extend the grace of His presence to them and the lads friends also.
- Hugh Williams
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:08pm
  I was thinking the same thing. Practice started at 3:22 pm and according to the article the tower collapsed at 4:26. They had him it that tower for over 1 hour in unsafe weather conditions. That is criminal.
  
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- untameable-kate
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:27pm
  I have been in sissor lifts that were extended and they feel like they are going tip when you walk around. I pray that no one told him to stay there knowing the wind was going to be bad.
  Thank you SNOW. Amen.
  
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- flyinpiper
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 5:47pm
  That is NOT a tower. It is called a “scissor lift”. I am a maintenance guy, we use these for woring in the overhead. They have to be on perfectly flat ground, and these can EASILY be knocked over by wind. There are no outriggers on these to stablize it. This should not have been used for a camera tower…Someone dropped the ball on this one. The family of this young man are about to become very rich (sadly). I am amazed at the stupidity of ND.
  
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- Star Spangled
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:09pm
  EXACTLY ! Didn’t he have a supervisor or someone who should have said “it’s too dangerous” ?
  
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- libertyordeath87
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:13pm
  They had no idea, they are liberal academia. I guess there wasn’t time to do any research, multi million dollar studies, or environmental impact analysis. But common sense should have prevailed, but we all know that is in short supply with the progressive left.
  
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- Paul G
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:21pm
  My GOD! I always wondered why they have the 10 pages of WHAT not to do on a ladder. NOW I KNOW! There’s WARNINGS on the bottom of ALL ‘scissor’ lifts…DO NOT OPERATE OR EXTEND IN WINDY CONDITIONS!!! No offense to this this kid of course..but,…Thought that was a NO BRAINER!!
- Robert W
  Posted on October 28, 2010 at 6:52pm
  God have mercy on his soul.
  
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