First accounts of the Astroworld tradegy
SAN ANTONIO – On Friday, Nov. 5, a crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival in Houston leaves at least 10 people killed and hundreds injured.
Minutes after the rapper headliner, Travis Scott, took the stage at the annual Astroworld Festival in Houston, some audience members in the crowd of approximately 50,000 concertgoers were crushed and trampled in an attempt to move closer to the stage. The deadly crowd surge resulted in the deaths of eight people and hundreds injured.
Sarah Galindo, an Astroworld attendee, explains the fear experienced before her unconscious body was crowd surfed to safety.
“I thought I was going to die,” Galindo said. “The last thing I saw before becoming unconscious was Travis Scott; I woke up to getting stepped on while lying on the hard ground; all I could do was lay there and protect myself.”
Our Lady of the Lake University junior and Astroworld attendee Massimo Garcia explained a similar experience.
“For a moment, I was already accepting [death],” Garcia said. To himself, Garcia said, “If I’m going to go out like this, so be it.”
Several lawsuits have been filed against Scott, the entertainment company and others, including special guest Drake. The prosecution argues that Scott actively encourages his fans to ‘rage’ at his concerts, resulting in serious violence at numerous shows. Since the ‘mass causality,’ Scott has deleted multiple incriminating tweets inciting dangerous actions at his concerts.
Similar to tragic events at Astroworld, in 2015, Scott pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct after he encouraged fans at Lollapalooza in Chicago to climb over security barricades and onto the stage. Two years later, Scott was sued by a fan who became paralyzed after being pushed from a third-story balcony and dragged onstage while the rapper performed in Manhattan.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Galindo
“I never suffered from PTSD, but this is different,” Galindo says. “I keep seeing [Travis Scott] in my dreams.”
Garcia didn’t realize the magnitude of the situation.
“After the festival got shut down and canceled, I knew it was bad, but not that bad,” Garcia said. “Walking in for some reason, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen because the vibe was different, something was off.”
The 10 confirmed deaths range from ages 9 and 27 years old, their names are:
Ezra Blount, 9
John Hilgert, 14
Brianna Rodriguez, 16
Jacob Jurinek, 20
Franco Patino, 21
Axel Acosta Avila, 21
Bharti Shahani, 22
Madison Dubiski, 23
Rodolfo Peña, 23
Danish Baig, 27
Travis Scott has offered a full refund of all Astroworld 2021 tickets and vowed to help the survivors by partnering with BetterHelp, offering one-on-one virtual therapy sessions with trained, licensed professionals.
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