Famous American lawyer Ben Crump announced on Friday that he had filed new complaints against the organizers of the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, where a stampede left at least nine people dead last week.
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“We represent more than 200 victims who have been psychologically and physically injured,” the lawyer said at a press conference, announcing the filing of 93 complaints a week after the fatal stampede, which also left hundreds of people dead. wounded.
The lawyer was notably hired by the family of a 9-year-old child, Ezra Blount, placed in an artificial coma in a Houston hospital after being trampled by the crowd on the evening of November 5.
Some 50,000 spectators were gathered in the NRG Park, an outdoor venue, to attend the concert of local rapper Travis Scott when a stampede trapped dozens of people. Lacking air and space, some onlookers passed out and were trampled by the crowd.
Despite the calls for help and to stop the concert, the organizers had waited several tens of minutes before stopping the music.
“We are going to make sure that the victims get justice, because this should never, never have happened,” said Mr. Crump, who has gained notoriety for defending families of African Americans victims of police violence like George Floyd or Breonna Taylor.
“All those with a responsibility in this festival must be accountable,” he said.
The complaints are aimed in particular at the company Live Nation, which presents itself as the biggest organizer of concerts in the world, the manager of NRG Park, but also Travis Scott and the Canadian rapper Drake, who had made an appearance.
“I never thought this party would turn into a disaster,” said Gertrude Daughtery, 59, injured her shoulders and legs after being pinned to the ground for 15 minutes.
“You buy a ticket and it’s a ticket to the afterlife,” she said.
Another victim, Dishon Isaac, 31, described a “war zone”.
“We were tight like sardines, I realized I had to get out of there, otherwise I was going to be crushed,” he said.
Other complaints already filed also target Travis Scott, the promoters, the managers of the concert site and several companies associated with the festival, for security breaches.