Chicago Woman Killed At Indiana State Fair To Be Remembered

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago woman killed in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse will be remembered and honored next weekend.

As WBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding reports, the memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10, for Christina Santiago, 29, who managed programming at the Lesbian Community Care Project at Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding reports

The center, along with the Latina lesbian women's service organization Amigas Latinas – of which Santiago was a board member – have organized the memorial at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. The service is open to the public.

Santiago, who lived in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, was one of seven people who died from injuries they suffered when a gust of wind ripped the stage down at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 13.

Concert-goers said opening act Sara Bareilles had finished performing, and the crowd was waiting for Sugarland to take the stage when the storm hit just before 9 p.m.

Meteorologists believe the wind storm might have been what's known as a "gustnado" -- which forms when a strong wind just before a thunderstorm causes the air to circulate like a tornado.

Santiago had worked at Howard Brown for nearly six years, and recently received the 2010 Spirit Award – the highest staff honor. Howard Brown president and chief executive officer Jamal Edwards called Santiago one of the organization's "brightest stars."

Santiago's partner, Alisha Marie Brennon, was injured in the stage collapse.

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• Howard Brown Health Center
• Lisa Fielding