Copyright 1998 Chicago Tribune Company
Chicago Tribune

July 4, 1998

FAMILY OF WOMAN KILLED IN '96 OLYMPIC BOMBING FILES SUIT

From Tribune News Services.

ATLANTA - The family of a woman killed by a bomb at the 1996 Olympic Games has filed a lawsuit against two security companies, the Atlanta Games organizers and AT&T Corp., a lawyer said Friday.

Gilbert Deitch said the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Fallon Stubbs, now 16, whose mother, Alice Hawthorne, was killed by a bomb that exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, and John Hawthorne, the woman's husband.

"She (Hawthorne) had gone to the park to celebrate her daughter's 14th birthday," Deitch said. "Her daughter was hit by shrapnel and survived, but (Hawthorne) was killed."
The suit claims the defendants breached their duty to maintain safety in the park during the Olympic Games. The bomb exploded about 1:20 a.m. on July 27, 1996, killing Hawthorne and wounding more than 100 other people.

The suit names as defendants AT&T, which had rented space at Centennial Olympic Park to stage concerts; the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games; Borg-Warner Protective Services Corp., a division of Borg-Warner Security; and a second security company, Anthony Davis Inc.