Concertgoer partially paralyzed after band member stage-dived at NY show
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BUFFALO, New York (WJW) – A concertgoer has a long road to recovery after a crowd surfing accident during a punk rock show left her partially paralyzed last month.
Bird Piché, 24, attended Trophy Eyes’ concert at Mohawk Place, a music venue in Buffalo, New York on April 30.
A family friend reportedly told the Independent that Piché’s neck was broken after one of the band members stage-dived on top of her during the show.
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According to a GoFundMe page set up to help cover Piché’s medical bills, she suffered from “catastrophic spinal cord injury” and underwent “extensive surgery.”
“It is still too early to know what her prognosis is but after leaving the hospital she will need to go to a rehab facility,” organizers say on the GoFundMe page.
Trophy Eyes, an Australian punk rock band, spoke out about the incident on social media.
“As a result of a tragic accident on the night of April 30, a Trophy Eyes fan was injured at our Buffalo NY show,” the band said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We elected to immediately shut down the show as John accompanied them to the hospital with their family.”
The post goes on to say that the band is “heartbroken” by the accident.
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“This situation has shaken us all to our core, and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time. Please, keep Bird in your thoughts. We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this as new news arrives.”
FOX 8 reached out to Mohawk Place for a statement:
“Buffalo’s Mohawk Place has a very strict no stage diving or crowd surfing policy. There are signs posted everywhere in the venue and notice was included in the emails for this show with the show’s promoter and the band themselves. Our policy and practiced procedure is a full show stop for any stage diving which was put into place for this incident.“
The venue shared a link to the GoFundMe on Facebook, saying, “by Bird’s request, we will not be hosting a fundraising show.”
As of Tuesday night, the GoFundMe has raised more than $72,000, with the band donating $5,000.
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