Feb 17, 2005 7:51 am US/Central
E2 Families Gathers For Prayer Vigil
CHICAGO (CBS 2) ―
Family and friends remembered the 21 victims of the E2 nightclub stampede with an overnight prayer vigil.
In the middle of the night, almost two years to the minute of the tragedy, a small group of friends and relatives gathered outside the shuttered club.
They prayed, and one by one they called out the names of the 21 people who died in the stampede.
The crowd that gathered this morning was smaller than it was a year ago, but the emotions were just as strong. Friends and loved ones prayed for the young men and woman who died Feb. 17, 2003.
Pamela Greene came to the ceremony to remember her niece, Danielle. Greene called her a "loving, sweet person" who would "give you her last."
"She would do anything for anybody in spite of their faults. She was a beautiful person, and we love you, Dani," Greene said. "You can never replace a life. I mean, people are going to feel this forever."
Danielle was only one of the victims who were caught in a stampede that erupted when a security guard used pepper spray to break up a fight on the dance floor.
The prayers began around 1:30 a.m. as ornately and individualized crosses were set up for families to add pictures and cards to, said Greg Zanis, a member of the not-for-profit group Crosses For Losses, who sponsored the event.
"I try to do a better job on these crosses," said Zanis, an Aurora resident. "I letter them and install them and make then really ornate," he said.
Zanis, a full-time carpenter, travels around the country for the organization to provide personalized crosses for people who have lost loved ones.
The tragedy has prompted criminal charges against the owners of the nightclub and scores of civil lawsuits brought by the victim's families.
"They can't get away with this," Greene said. "They know they were wrong and they have to pay. Someone has to be held liable.
There have now been 60 civil suits filed against the owners.
The latest civil suit seeking damages was filed yesterday by Terrell Austin. He was one of dozens of people hurt in the panic two years ago.
The first criminal trial of the two owners of the E2 nightclub is due back in court on March 11.
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