Concertgoer Partially Paralyzed in Freak Accident After Punk Rock Singer Stage Dives

Devon Forward
·2 min read
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Concertgoers attend a live concert

A 24-year-old woman named Bird Piché is partially paralyzed, reportedly only able to move her arms, after John Floreani, the singer of the Australian punk band Trophy Eyes, stage dived on top of her.

According to WGRZ, the accident happened at the band's show in Buffalo, N.Y., at a venue called Mohawk Place on April 30. A family friend, Leo Wolter Tejera, told the news network the incident happened during the first song of the concert. The singer stage dived and hit Bird on the head, and "there must just not have been enough people around there to catch him, or they weren't aware that he was going to jump."

People reportedly thought Bird fainted, but "She wasn't getting up and John, the singer, was like right there with her. So yeah, they took her right to the hospital into emergency trauma surgery, and then she was admitted."

Bird suffered a spinal cord injury, with Wolter Tejera noting that she is currently breathing on her own and can communicate with people through texts and arm movement. A GoFundMe was created to help pay for her medical care and the band Trophy Eyes donated $5,000. As of writing, the GoFundMe has raised over $59,000 of its $100,000 goal.

Wolter Tejera also commented on Bird's possible prognosis and future regarding the injury, telling WGRZ, "From my understanding and the conversation we’ve heard so far from doctors is with catastrophic spinal injuries, you just can’t tell and they take a lot of time and patience to see what the outcome is really gonna be."

Trophy Eyes recently responded publicly to the incident, writing on social media about "how truly heartbroken we are to be here now," before adding, "The situation has shaken us all to our core, and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time."

In an update from WKBW 7 News in Buffalo, Mohawk Place noted that it has had a "no crowd surfing policy" since 2011, with the general manager, Mike Thor, emphasizing that there are "signs posted everywhere" and reminders were included in emails with the band and the show promoter.

Wolter Tejera also spoke about concert safety and mosh pits, stating that "there needs to be consent." They claimed that there was none in this case, and instead, "There was just a body falling down from the sky onto a person who didn't know that was going to be happening."

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