Live Nation Reaches First Settlement in Astroworld Deaths Nearly 1 Year After Tragedy
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Astroworld Festival
Live Nation has reached a settlement agreement with the family of a 21-year-old who died at Travis Scott''s Astroworld Festival.
The settlement marks the first in the tragedy after the rapper, 31, was sued multiple times when 10 people died during his Astroworld Festival last November.
The family of one of the victims, Axel Acosta, settled their claims against Live Nation and Scott, their attorney Tony Buzbee confirms with PEOPLE. The specifics of the agreement are confidential.
"Victim Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student. He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers," Buzbee says.
Gofundme Axel Acosta
Axel was also a computer science student at Western Washington University.
A representative for Scott — who was one of more than 20 defendants in the lawsuit — tells PEOPLE, "No member of our team has been involved in talks of a settlement."
A separate source tells PEOPLE that Live Nation is the party that will pay the agreement.
TMZ was first to report the news.
In November 2021, Axel's father Edgar Acosta, confirmed to ABC 13 that his son was an unidentified concert attendee who had been recovered from Memorial Hermann Hospital after the tragedy.
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Edgar told the outlet that filing a missing persons report on his son with authorities proved to be a challenge as Axel was a Washington resident.
Speaking with ABC 13, Axel's aunt, Cynthia Acosta, said that her nephew attended the Astroworld Festival on his own after traveling by himself from Washington to see Scott perform alongside other entertainers.
"It was his first time going to an event like that," Cynthia explained to the outlet.
RELATED VIDEO: Travis Scott and Drake Named in $750 Million Lawsuit Brought by Victims of Astroworld Festival
Police did not immediately release a cause of death, however, it was later confirmed that all 10 victims died of accidental "compression asphyxia," according to a report from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences obtained by PEOPLE.
Along with Axel, the victims of the tragedy were Danish Baig, 27, Rodolfo "Rudy" Peña, 23, Madison Dubiski, 23, Franco Patiño, 21, Jacob Jurinek, 20, John Hilgert, 14, Brianna Rodriguez, 16, Bharti Shahan, 22, and Ezra Blount, 9.
Nearly 5,000 people were injured.
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Rick Kern/Getty Travis Scott
On Nov. 5, 2021 over 50,000 fans gathered to attend Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston. As Scott's set began, many of the attendees attempted to rush the stage causing countless people to lose consciousness or be trampled.
Scott offered to pay for the funeral services of the victims. Several of the victims' families rejected his offer.
In his first post-Astroworld interview in December, Scott — who has a lawsuit against him that represents nearly 2,800 victims — said he was unable to hear any screams for help when the crowd surge began, and claimed he did stop the show several times in order to ensure his fans were safe.
Scott requested the dismissal of multiple lawsuits against him in December 2021. In the filings, the rapper and his company "generally" denied the allegations made in the suits.
