A Fan Died At a Slipknot Concert After Moshing
Patch.com is reporting that man died after moshing at a Slipknot concert at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, IL (outside Chicago) this past Sunday night, August 11.
Witnesses reported that the man, Richard Valadez, 62, had been having friendly discussions with other concertgoers, and that he said he worked at Six Flags and offered to get his fellow headbangers a deal there. When Slipknot took the stage, witnesses reported that Valadez was moshing in the lawn section of the amphitheatre and “was knocked to the ground at least once.”
During the song “Sulfur,” Patch.com reports that “the man was hit too hard and fell out of the pit and into the grass.” Witnesses tried to help him up, but he starting suffering a seizure. They alerted venue staff to call emergency personnel, who they say took 15 to 25 minutes to arrive, and described the scene as “confusing:”
“[One witness] said he and at least one other man tried to push back the crowd so people would not stomp on Valadez, who had fallen to the ground. Two men performed CPR on him. It was not clear Wednesday who those men were. Other people, witnesses said, shined flashlights from their phones and waved their arms to get guards’ attention, and several people jumped fences to alert ticket-takers on the other side about the emergency. Witnesses also described seeing men carrying a stretcher toward Valadez. The men reportedly were not wearing emergency uniforms and were dressed as if they were heavy-metal fans attending the concert. It also was not clear who those men were.
“Several people who saw what happened said that while they understood it must be difficult for the amphitheater’s staff to manage an emergency during a loud concert with thick crowds, they were nevertheless disturbed by what seemed like an unacceptably long amount of time it took to not only reach Valadez, but to get him out of the concert area and to the parking lot.
Valadez was pronounced dead at 11:34pm. The cause of his death is not yet known with an autopsy is pending, said a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Iron Maiden are set to play the same venue on August 22.
Slipknot have yet to comment, but we’re sure a statement is coming on this unspeakable tragedy. On behalf of everyone at MetalSucks, we wish all the best to Valadez’s friends and family. Stay safe out there, people.
