(Trends Wide) — The family of Axel Acosta Avila, one of 10 people who died in a fatal wave during the Astroworld Festival in Houston this month, is among 125 whistleblowers who filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the event’s organizers and others.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the loss of physical and mental health and human life, according to the petition filed by the Buzbee Law Firm in Harris County, Texas.
Acosta Avila, a 21-year-old from Tieton, Washington, attended the festival alone, his aunt Cynthia Acosta told Trends Wide affiliate KTRK. “It was the first time I was going to an event like that,” he told the Houston station.
He was a third-year student at Western Washington University and was interested in computer science, according to the university.
Axel Acosta Avila
The lawsuit on behalf of the Acosta Avila family was filed against Live Nation event organizers and Travis Scott, who was on stage when the deadly wave of people occurred. The lawsuit also names artists Drake and Apple, Inc., who streamed the event on their Apple Music platform, according to the lawsuit.
More than US $ 750 million is sought.
“The damages requested in this case are intended to repair, aid or compensate for the damages and losses suffered by these plaintiffs,” the lawsuit read. The quantum sought includes punitive damages sufficient to punish and set an example for all those involved in the transmission, promotion, organization and failed performance of the concert, and also to encourage those who engage in such activity in the future to do so with security in foreground”.
Trends Wide has reached out to Scott, Drake, Live Nation, Apple and other named defendants for comment on the lawsuit.
In a statement issued last week, Scott said he is “distraught over the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide help to (the victims) as soon as possible.” Scott has said that he will pay for the funerals of the victims.
Live Nation previously said that “we are heartbroken for the people lost and affected at Astroworld last night” and is “working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to local authorities as they investigate the situation.”
Last week Drake issued a statement on his Instagram account calling the incident a “devastating tragedy.”
“My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for all those who are suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them and help in whatever way I can,” he added.
At least 140 lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the tragedy, according to Harris County District Court records.
One such lawsuit was filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount who died Sunday after being put into a medically induced coma due to injuries sustained at the concert, according to a statement from the family’s attorney Ben Crump.
The lawsuit accuses the event organizers of negligence, according to the statement.
Music festival takes a tragic turn
The Astroworld Festival turned deadly as concert goers were crushed, trampled and struggled for breath as the packed crowd made their way to an outdoor stage when lead artist Scott began performing on November 5.
Information from firefighters and police at the festival reveals a situation that became increasingly dangerous before and during Scott’s set. Ambulances transported a handful of injured aides to the hospital that morning and afternoon, according to records from the Houston Fire Department.
Shortly before 5:00 pm, the Houston Police Department reported “dangerous crowd conditions” at one point. Eight minutes before Scott took the stage at 9:00 p.m., more than 260 people had already been seen, according to records that did not specify the type of treatment. And at 9:18 pm the entrance registered a “crush injury.”
Less than half an hour after Scott’s performance, the record reads, “This is when it all got real.”
“Several people trampled, passed out in front of the stage” at 9:33 pm, police reported. Minutes later, a police operator reported five calls to 911 about “unconscious people in the crowd. Report of possible CPR.”
At least one police officer reported that the main stage was compromised around 9:11 p.m., reported Thursday the Houston Chronicle, citing emergency radio conversations.
The audio included reports of broken barricades, people jumping doors, and respiratory and heart problems, the newspaper reported. The talk on the radio continued until 10:15 p.m., reported the Chronicle. Trends Wide has reached out to the Houston Police Department for comment.
It’s unclear what Scott saw from the stage and if he was aware of the crowd conditions, but he continued to perform until 10:10 pm That was after officials declared the concert a “mass casualty event.” according to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña.
Scott didn’t learn the number of the victims until the next morning, his attorney said.
