Friday

badcrowd

Last night at Sundown in the City on Market Square, I had a terrible crowd experience. My two youngest children and I tried to get closer to the stage, so we waded into the crowd. Within 30 seconds, we were crushed into a crowd of people so tightly that the children were literally having trouble breathing. It was the first time I have ever really understood how these terrible crowd trampling deaths happen at concerts and stuff.

I pushed and yelled and argued our way out of the crowd, but it took fifteen minutes to move twenty or thirty feet. My children, who are short, and thus were below the fresh air at adult level, were crying and shaking by the time we got out. Other smaller people, including this elderly lady about 5 feet tall, were crying and begging to be let out of the crush.

I have NEVER been smashed up into a crowd of people like that, and I've been to hundreds of concerts. It was unquestionably a dangerous situation. If anything had happened that had required people to move out of Market Square quickly, someone would have been killed. It was that bad.

I think the problem is that Market Square is so narrow that the crowd can only move back and forth, not side to side. After we got out, I found a fireman and told him, but he didn't seem that concerned.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was nearly suffocated at that show last night as well. It was really bad.

Anonymous said...

I guess I have to ask, what kind of a parent takes a six year old and a nine year old to a bar for a concert? I have taken my older child to concerts at an arena but they were very family friendly groups. this summer I am bringing my five year old with us to see the american idols on tour but it is only because he adored constantine maroulis and would be crushed to miss it. I cannot imagine taking a child that young into a bar where he could be crushed by a crowd and be around people who are drinking and could wind up doing god only knows what.
bring it on Katie..I am sure you know just how low I am now that you know I watched, enjoyed and voted on american idol. it may or may not be fixed but I enjoyed it immensely.

Anonymous said...

Not a bar. An outdoor concert. Outdoors. Not a bar. Lots of kids and families. Sundown in the City is not a "grown up" event. It is an all ages outdoor concert series.

Sheesh.

Kayla said...

I got trapped in a crowd like that, at a parade in downtown Atlanta the year that the Braves played the Twins in the Series. I was trying to walk between two office buildings but got stuck and couldn't go any further...there was a fence behind us and a police barricade in front, and I got lifted out of my shoes. It was terrifying.