Jack Russell’s Great White, the hard rock band known for a 2003 concert at which its pyrotechnics sparked a nightclub fire that killed 100 people, is scheduled to play this summer at Harvest Hill Farms in Mechanic Falls, where a hayride rollover in October killed a teenager and injured 22 other people.

According to the band’s website, the scheduled Aug. 15 appearance at the farm is part of a series of upcoming dates at casinos, county fairgrounds and other venues throughout the United States.

Jack Russell’s Great White features the lead singer of the original band Great White, which rose to prominence in the 1980s with hits such as “Save Your Love” and “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

The band was playing on Feb. 20, 2003, at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, when pyrotechnics set off by its then-manager ignited highly flammable sound-insulation foam on the walls and ceiling.

The fire spread quickly, causing panicked fans to stampede for the exits. In addition to the 100 deaths, 230 people were injured, while another 132 escaped unharmed.

The band’s tour manager at the time, Daniel Biechele, pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter and served less than two years in prison, according to an Associated Press story on the fire’s 10th anniversary. The club’s two owners pleaded no contest to the same charges. One served less than three years in prison while the other was sentenced to community service.

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On Wednesday, the Androscoggin County grand jury issued manslaughter and other charges against Harvest Hill Farms, where the Oct. 11 hayride crash killed 17-year-old Cassidy Charette of Oakland. The driver of the hayride, David Brown, was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct.

Farm owner Peter Bolduc, who was not indicted, filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 2 under the corporate name Andover Covered Bridge LLC, according to documents filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland, citing personal injury claims from the accident as the primary reason.

Bolduc’s attorney, Michael Whipple, did not return a call seeking comment Friday evening.

The filing does not cover the business that operated the hayride, just the entity that owns the land on which that business and other related enterprises are tenants, according to the law firm representing Bolduc.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to reorganize debt and negotiate with creditors while the collection of debts is put on hold. It doesn’t mean the business stops operating.

 


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