HOUSTON — Witnesses are giving perspective on what the scene was like Friday night at the Astroworld festival, where eight people were killed and many others injured.
According to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña, at around 9 p.m. or 9:15 p.m., the crowd pushed near the front of the stage. Some people started passing out and others started to panic. Hundreds of people were treated on festival grounds. Others were transported to hospitals, including 11 individuals who Peña said were suffering cardiac arrest.
Three friends from out of state said they witnessed the chaos. Stephen Gutierrez, who came from New York for the show, was in the thick of the crowd.
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“I witnessed someone unconscious, struggling to get him out, like his friends were trying to get him out and just people weren’t caring enough to make a path,” he said. "I’m a 400-pound guy. I jumped in because that’s just my instinct, and I just made a path for him.”
Angel Colon from Orlando, Florida, and Kevin Rosario from Atlantic City, New Jersey, were with Gutierrez at the show.
“In the front, there was a lot of jumping,” Colon said. “If you didn’t jump, you would fall and get trampled on, definitely. The crowd is pushing back and forth. If you were even a little tired, you were going to fall.”
“People don’t understand you have limits,” Rosario added. “If you feel at one point, you see something that’s not right, you’re leaning down, don’t be Superman. Please just take it on yourself to live another day.”