Fan falls to his death at Phish concert in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - A Phish concert in San Francisco on Sunday turned tragic after a fan fell to his death, officials said. Two other concertgoers were seriously injured in a separate falling incident.
Phish is known for their mellow grooves and loyal following, but on Monday fans were left recovering from the shock of last night's show.
At around 8:55 p.m. on Sunday officers who were on duty at San Francisco's Chase Center were alerted by concertgoers that someone was in need of medical assistance.
Officers then found a man suffering from injuries caused by a possible fall, officials said. Medics arrived and rendered aid to the victim, but despite efforts, the man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
Robert Moen of Austin, Texas was in town to watch the show said he was just feet away from the tragedy.
"We were a couple rows behind the first guy that jumped intentionally and we saw him right when he put his feet on the barrier, stood up and just leapt," said Moen. "He went out of view and I realized later, that was a huge drop, maybe four stories or so."
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The San Francisco Police Department confirmed the fatal fall to KTVU and said in a statement, "We extend our heartfelt condolences to the guest’s loved ones." Later adding that there is no evidence of foul play.
Almost an hour after the first incident, officers were notified that a second man had fallen.
Moen said he and his wife, both already deeply shaken by what had just occurred, also witnessed that incident.
"We went across the arena 15 minutes later to just try to see if we could move on, and we were just sitting there at set break, deciding whether to leave or not, still up high, but far away to try to re-center ourselves, and another guy falls," said Moen. "This time by accident, but it was right there in front of us, yet again."
The victim was transported to a local hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities said during the course of the man's fall, he toppled another concertgoer who also sustained serious injuries. That victim was also transported to a local hospital.
Police officials said there is no evidence of a "criminal violation" in the second incident.
Moen said the second fall was about 20 feet or so to the lower level. He said he and his wife left the concert after that second incident, boarded a plane and returned home to Texas.
He said they are still trying to process all that they witnessed.
"We wound up heading home because we saw two people fall," he told KTVU. "One obviously worse than the other. But, after seeing that it shook us up and we headed out."