Major 200 foot-high monument in Indiana, USA falls over

[LikeMinded]

ROOTERS NEWS AGENCY
URGENT NEWS FLASH

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, USA-- On the morning of 1 April 2009, the over 100-years-old Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument completely broke near its base in 60MPH winds that battered the city the morning a storm front passed through.

The estimated wind gust that topped the monument was well in excess of 100MPH due to the long, narrow corridors of tall buildings that surround the monument, located at the exact geographic center of the city. The direction of the Monument's fall caused heavy damage to the top of the Two Monument Circle building, on which it fell.

The traffic circle encircling the monument, known as Monument Circle, a plaza well-known for multiple notable sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500 and Indianapolis 800 Grand Prix auto races (both consisting of 5,000 laps around the circle), was cordoned off to the public and is unlikely to ever reopen to any sort of motorized traffic, according to local authorities. In place of the existing monument, the mayor of the city has vowed that a new, even taller monument will be built to honor the recently collapsed one, and relocate the infamous automobile races to Interstate 465. A major concern, the mayor stated, was that the races would now interfere with the local traffic on their respective dates in May and September, severely slowing down travelers, semi-trucks, and commuters.

The Monument, at over 200 feet in height, was one of the 10 tallest buildings in the city and was the first tallest for over 60 years. It was America's tallest monument to the 1898 Spanish War's regiments of soldiers and sailors, and one of the tallest war memorial monuments in the world.

Ordinary citizens were also greatly upset by the collapse of the Monument. Ms. Paril Ofolos, an insurance litigation lawyer at Brutally, Frank, and Honest Law Partners (located in the building damaged by the collapse of the Monument), said "The monument will be dearly missed. Whomever was responsible for this disaster really needs sued [sic]. What's next, the fall of the Warshington [sic] Monument in DC?"

--Reporting by Like Minded