*Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were performing in Camden, NJ, earlier this month when a guard railing at the venue suddenly gave out, causing injuries to more than 40 attendees. And, unfortunately, it wasn’t the only mass injury event at a Snoop Dogg concert this August.
Eyewitnesses in Camden said that rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa appeared on a secondary stage toward the rear of the BB&T Pavilion venue, encouraging the crowd to “get up.” The audience on the upper level lawn surged toward the stage, and when the railing collapsed around 10:30 p.m., some 50 people tumbled 10 feet down onto the concrete level below.
“People started piling on each other and people just started running,” said concertgoer Katie Colbridge. “All you see were tears going down their face. You could see friends holding onto each other, like clenching, like making sure that all their people were there.”
The show came to halt once performers realized what had happened and security escorted them off stage, while others attended to the injured. Nearly three dozen people were taken to various local hospitals for mostly minor injuries, including bumps, bruises, and broken bones. Many fall accidents can result in more than 31 days away from work, but all of the concertgoers admitted for treatment were reportedly released by Monday morning. The remaining injuries were treated by medics on-site.
Concert organizer Live Nation said that company employees were among some of those injured and they would be following up on the incident. “Live Nation is closely following the recovery of the injured fans and employees as well as actively working with authorities and structural engineers to determine the cause of the collapse,” read a statement.
Camden spokesperson Vincent Basara informed news sources that the venue was up-to-date on all inspections. Code enforcement officials looked into the broken railing the morning after the concert and installed a temporary one in its place, in time for the following evening’s “I Love the 90’s” show featuring Salt-N-Pepa, Vanilla Ice, and others, which proceeded without incident.
Investigations by the Camden County Sheriff’s Office and the Camden County Police Department are ongoing, according to local officials.
Just a few days after the Camden incident, more than 25 underage concertgoers were treated for alcohol poisoning at a “The High Road” concert in Long Island. The Tuesday night event drew a number of underage guests, many of whom consumed a dangerous level of alcohol.
According to TMZ, the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater was dangerously understaffed, with just eight police officers for every 7,000 guests.
Image Source: Tulane University
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