The Harris County, Texas medical examiner’s office on Thursday ruled that all of the victims died of “compression asphyxiation.” According to the report, Danish Baig’s cause of death was asphyxiation, but with a contributing cause of the combined toxic effects of cocaine, methamphetamine and ethanol.
Baig died during the November 5 concert while trying to save his fiancee, according to his brother.
The other nine victims of the tragedy were identified as Rodolfo Peña, Madison Dubiski, Franco Patino, Jacob Jurinek, John Hilgert, Axel Acosta, Briana Rodriguez, Bharti Shahani and Ezra Blount.
The death of the victims has been described as an accident. Following these findings, James Lassiter, lawyer for Shahani’s family, released the following statement:
“The findings of the medical examiner confirm the worst fears of Bharti’s family. The last moments of their beloved daughter’s life were surely marked by suffering, panic and terror. It is a gruesome and inevitable picture that ‘No parent should have to endure. But it is the sad reality for the Shahanis and the nine other families who received this terrible news. “
WATCH: Astroworld death results point to negligence, lawyer says
Tony Buzbee, who represents Acosta, also addressed the findings, saying the report confirmed what the family knew – “that (Acosta) was run over and killed that night by the mob, through no fault of his own.”
Buzbee also added that Acosta’s blood did not contain any intoxicants or the like.
“Now that we have received the official results, I want to say to our police chief: Shame on you. Shame on you for perpetuating and giving credit to a stupid rumor that people were injected at the concert. “, we read in the statement of Buzbee.
What was supposed to be a fun night full of live music turned into a nightmare as the crowds started to force their way forward. The panic began just minutes after Travis Scott’s performance as people in the crowd were already in need of medical attention.
The event plan showed that only two people had the power to shut down the show: the executive producer and the festival director. Police officials told the Houston Chronicle that Live Nation had agreed to cut the show short, but Scott continued his set.
The cause of death for the victims was released just a day after the concert stage was taken down at NRG Park in Houston. In the nearly six weeks since tens of thousands of people were squashed into the relatively small space for Scott’s third Astroworld music festival in his hometown, investigators with various enforcement agencies law and victim attorneys, collected and photographed evidence at the scene, requiring the stage setup to remain in place.
Since the drama, many lawsuits have been filed, from the families of the victims to the spectators who also find themselves living with the trauma of the chaos. Victims’ lawyers and concert organizers have also called for all of the lawsuits to be consolidated into one.
WATCH | Astroworld Aftermath – what happened that night
Copyright © 2021 KTRK-TV. All rights reserved.
