There was tragedy at a Phish concert this weekend as one person died and two others injured in separate falls from upper-level seating.
As reported by KPIX 5, the tragedy occurred at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, October 17th. A San Francisco Police Department confirmed that officers were alerted to someone in need of medical assistance at the concert and arrived just before 9pm, as Phish played their set.
“We felt this thud, it was a remarkable thud,” a witness at the event revealed to KPIX 5. “One of my friends said, ‘Is it an earthquake?’ And the other guy said, ‘’I think someone fell.’ I saw a man’s body shirtless draped over a seat, like that.”
An investigation into the death is still underway, although police don’t believe there is no evidence of foul play. “Medics arrived and immediately provided medical treatment, but despite the efforts of the emergency responders the victim succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased,” a police spokesperson said.
The officers and medics were called upon again less than an hour later when a man fell from the upper-level seating of the arena onto another man below. Both were rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“He clearly missed a step and wasn’t holding onto that handrail and just kept going,” a concertgoer explained. “He had gone over the clear plastic barrier which was no higher than, I guess, maybe your knees.”
“They weren’t really designed for an event where everyone is up and dancing and there’s a whole lot of drug use,” another concertgoer added. “My buddy was like, ‘I don’t go up there because I’m 6’4″, and I’m scared of falling over the railing.'”
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“We are working with the local authorities to determine exactly what happened, and will defer questions about the incident to the San Francisco Police Department,” a spokesperson for the Chase Center stated in a statement.
For more on this topic, follow the Live Music Observer.
