Music Festival In California Leaves Three Dead
The Hard Music Festival in California left three people dead over the past weekend. The festival is going on its ninth year and took place at the Auto Club Speedway in San Bernardino County, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.
The music festival experienced two tragic deaths last year in 2015 and had worked diligently to ensure that they were prepared for this year, according to reports made by NBC Bay Area.
Some 325 arrests were made at this year’s festival, sheriff’s officials told KTLA.
One of the concert-goers had tried to bring various drugs — including marijuana and methamphetamine — into the venue, but was intercepted by law enforcement.
A coroner’s full investigation is still pending. However, in the past, music festivals like Hard Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Ultra are often swarming with people under the influence of drugs.
Ecstasy, MDMA, or Molly is the popular drug of choice at these DJ-driven events. Combining the hot sun with drugs and alcohol while most likely overexerting themselves on the dance floor at the same time is cause for disaster.
The three dead adults have been identified by the Coroner’s Division of the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department as Derek Lee from San Francisco who was just 22-years-old, Roxanne Ngo, also 22-years-old, from Chino Hills, and Alyssa Dominguez from San Diego who died at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital of Fontana at the age of 21.
Just last week, reports came out revealing that the parents of 19-year-old, Katie Dix, who died at last year’s Hard Music Festival, were suing the organizers of the event. The suit alleged that the music festival organizers knowingly allow concert-goers to enter the premises while intoxicated or on drugs.
The Hard Music Festival claims to have significantly stepped up their security game and medical help for this year’s two-day festival, but it has been proven to be difficult to prevent these deaths from happening at rave concerts such as this.
The music festival organizers have made attempts to create a safer environment for concert-goers. Attendees are able to seek medical attention while at the festival if they are under the influence of anything without legal consequences. Water was readily available and shade was provided if people needed a break from the hot California sun.
On August 1, it was reported by LA Weekly that the organizers of the Hard Music Festival released a public statement addressing the deaths.
“We were deeply saddened to learn about the deaths of three people who attended the festival this weekend. While the causes of the deaths have not yet been determined, we ask everyone to keep them in their prayers. Our sincerest thoughts and condolences are with their family and friends.”
Drug tests will most likely be performed on the three people however, results could take weeks to be known. Their deaths were not believed to be related, and each death is being investigated separately, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Sherrif’s Department spokeswoman Jodi Miller, spoke today (August 1) told the media that nine people were transported from the Hard Summer Music Festival to local hospitals.
THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO #HARDSUMMER 2016!
Get home safe & we will see u next year for our 10th Anniversary!! pic.twitter.com/LAuB5t28WW— HARD Events (@HARDFEST) August 1, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mTaFm6fJrI
[Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images]
