HEADING out to Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert with a group of pals, excited fan Ayden Cruz was looking forward to the night of his life.
Instead, he found himself in a hellish crush that claimed the life of his close friend Brianna Rodriguez and nine others, including a nine-year-old boy.
What began as a highly anticipated event in the wake of pandemic restrictions, in November 2021, quickly descended into one of the US’ worst concert disasters, with dozens of people left fighting for their lives.
As the rapper took to the stage, the over-capacity crowd at Houston’s NRG Park surged forward, triggering a stampede which left several people trapped.
Fans say their screams for help fell on deaf ears as Scott continued performing amid the chaos.
In the aftermath of Astroworld, the heartbroken families of the victims – the youngest of whom was nine-year-old Ezra Blount – were left questioning how such a tragedy was allowed to occur.
In a new Netflix documentary, Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, Ayden and other survivors speak out about the harrowing ordeal that has left them traumatised four years on.
“Everyone was really hype. And everyone’s body moves forward. And then the wave comes back,” says Ayden, who was also with girlfriend Mikaela at the festival.
“That was like being stuffed into one little spot and just being squeezed. I started to feel a certain fear. That’s when I was like, ‘Hold on, this is not okay.’
“One of those waves just hit both me and Bri. We all fell to our backs. I could hear her in pain asking, ‘Help me get out,’ and stuff like that. I was the second layer.
“There were people under me. And then me falling on my back, and then people stacking on top of me.”
As Ayden struggled to escape the mountain of bodies piled on top of him, he realised that the more he fought, the worse it became for him.
“I could feel the oxygen leaving my body. I don’t know how long I was under there, but it felt like forever. And then people moved off me. I saw someone’s face. They looked at me.
“He pulled me out, and I just remember feeling so many different things. Where’s Mikaela? Did Bri get out? I looked for Mikaela. I found her.
“I knew where I saw Bri. Anyone who was at the same level as me was not receiving oxygen. I just remember panicking in that moment.”
Ayden tried his best to stop the show so others could get help. In footage taken on the night, Ayden can be seen climbing a camera platform to get the attention of the crew.
I knew where I saw Bri. Anyone who was at the same level as me was not receiving oxygen. I just remember panicking in that moment.
Ayden Cruz
He told the workers: “Shut the f**k up! People are f**king dying. I’m trying to save somebody’s life. That’s somebody’s kid. I want to save them.”
Ayden then frantically went searching for Brianna, believing there was a chance she was still struggling under the crowd. He was eventually told she had been taken to the hospital.
He emotionally recalls: “Right when we get there, her family just starts crying really loudly. We are thinking they are still trying. It’s not over yet. There’s still an opportunity for her to be saved.
“Until they come back and they [said], ‘We can’t do anything.’ Everyone just dropped to the floor. I just remember crying and feeling like this is the worst night of my life. I felt defeated.”
‘Stole my heart’
Raul and his friends, including Rudy Pena, 27, could hardly contain their excitement as they made their way to the main stage to watch Travis’ set.
In the film, he explains: “That’s when it started getting pretty hectic. We lost each other.”
There was a clock counting down the minutes till Travis’ big performance. With each passing minute, the crowd surged forward to get a closer look at the rapper.
When the situation got worse, Raul says he could hear Rudy behind him saying he couldn’t breathe. After assuring him to drink water and calm down, Raul thought all was well.
After the concert, Raul and his friends designated a meeting spot – but as all his mates gathered, one was missing.
He recalls: “Everybody started getting there slowly, but Rudy. That was so strange to me because the whole time I had thought he got out safely. But he’s the only one missing.
“That’s when I hit full panic.”
Their friend Manuel raced towards the emergency crews and ambulances without any sign of Rudy. He even started calling hospitals. One hospital said that Rudy was there.
Manuel says in the film: “There was no information due to us not being family. So that’s when I called Rudy’s mum.”
This was not a case of missing red flags. This was a case of ignoring blaring warning sirens.
Scott Davidson, crowd safety expert
Rudy’s mum, Maria Pena, rushed to Houston to check on her son but, on arrival at the hospital, she was given the devastating news that Rudy had died.
In the film, she tearfully says: “That’s when I just lost it. I was screaming ‘What am I gonna tell his siblings? What am I gonna tell his friends? What am I going to say to my heart, to my soul?
“They stole my heart. They stole a part of my heart. I couldn’t bear it. And I still can’t.”
‘I’m gonna die here’
As the crowd were frantically looking for an escape route, Sofia, who was celebrating getting her nursing certificate, was certain she would not make it out alive.
She says in the film: “The crowd was swaying, and I was swaying with the crowd because of how tight it was. I had no control over my body.
“And I just remember thinking, ‘Don’t fall down because you won’t make it back up. In the commotion, I lost my balance and fell on someone. And I just remember feeling pressure because people were falling on me.
“I remember looking up and just being like, ‘I’m gonna die here.’ And then someone saw my hand and they helped me up. Travis Scott was still playing the whole time. I was shaking.
“At this point, I was like, ‘I need to be out there helping people because I’m a registered nurse. There was this guy on the floor. I do my assessment on him.
“He has a pulse, but it’s really faint. I grabbed his legs, and I just remember putting them up.” Sofia heroically tried several methods to revive him.
Eventually, his heart started beating normally, and he regained consciousness, to Sofia’s relief.
That stranger was Arturo, who also appears in the film.
He says: “I was practically being suffocated to death. What led up to me passing out was like a heart attack. The doctors had to really explain to me what had really happened.
“And I was like ‘Holy shit, she brought me back to life. She was there for me. God bless her.'”
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14386784/astroworld-tragedy-scott-stop/
