Circus operator to pay $15K in tent collapse that killed 2

LANCASTER, N.H. – A judge has ordered a Florida-based circus operator to pay $15,000 in fines for operating without a license in New Hampshire following a tent collapse in 2015 that killed two people and injured dozens.

Sarasota-based Walker International Events pleaded guilty to the felony Wednesday in a plea agreement. Lesser charges dealing with fire, building code and reckless conduct allegations are to be addressed next week. Walker initially faced more than $200,000 in fines.

Forty-one-year-old Robert Young and his 6-year-old daughter, Annabelle, of Concord, Vermont, died when a storm blew through the Lancaster Fairgrounds. The judge didn’t immediately rule in a separate hearing on a proposed settlement in a lawsuit filed by Young’s wife.

The company, now out of business, has settled other lawsuits and agreed to pay federal safety fines.