Local : Fall Kills Lancaster Woman, 87

An 87-year-old member of the Lancaster Woman’s Club died after falling 20 feet from a staircase into the orchestra pit of the city’s new Performing Arts Center during a tour of the facility, city officials said today.

Viola Parr of Lancaster, who had a prosthetic device on one leg, apparently fell sideways from the staircase into the pit about 4:45 p.m. Monday, officials said. The city’s cultural arts superintendent was leading Parr and five other members of the club’s executive board on a tour of the $7.5-million center, which is under construction and scheduled for completion by spring, City Manager Dennis Davenport said.

Firefighters took Parr to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center, where she died about 8:45 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

It was not clear whether the prosthetic device on Parr’s leg played a role in her fall, Fire Capt. Steve Salhus said. Davenport said there were no railings on the staircase, which had a wall on one side and the orchestra pit on the other.

“In our minds it is a pure and simple accident,” Davenport said.