Staff member killed in Jacob's Pillow accident identified; no charges will be filed

A staff member who died in an accident at Jacob's Pillow dance center in Becket, Massachusetts on Friday has been identified. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office said Production Manager Kat (Kathryn) Sirico was killed.

Accidental death

Sirico, 40, of Rochester, NY, and a summer intern were moving platforms across the Jacob's Pillow property in Becket early Friday afternoon when the accident happened, according to the D.A.'s office. Platforms, which are used for staging a theater, were on a dolly and Sirico and the intern were moving the dolly downhill. They lost control of the dolly and as Sirico tried to stop it, they tripped and fell. The loaded dolly ran over Sirico and the platforms fell off, landing on Sirico.

Bystanders tried life-saving measures and the Becket Police Department and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene. After investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section and the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office determined that the incident was a workplace accident, and no criminal charges will be filed.

History of Jacob's Pillow

Jacob's Pillow is a performance space and dance school in Becket, which is in western Massachusetts. Each summer, it hosts a nine-week dance festival that includes more than 50 dance companies and features performances, talks, exhibits and more. Jacob's Pillow canceled the performances scheduled to take place in the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival throughout the weekend.

The Pillow is a 200-acre National Historic Landmark. The farm was bought in 1931 by Ted Shawn, a modern dance pioneer who wanted to legitimize dance in the United States. He created a dance company of eight men in 1933 and began giving "Tea Lecture Demonstrations," which was the foundation of the organization's current dance festival.