A young woman has been left with a “catastrophic spinal injury” while at the concert of an Australian rock band after the singer left into the audience to crowd surf.
Bird Piche, 24, was attending a show of Newcastle-based rock band Trophy Eyes in Buffalo, New York when lead singer John Floreani jumped into the mosh section, injuring the woman.
The show was immediately shut down with the singer accompanying the woman to the hospital with her family.
In a statement, the band said they were “truly heartbroken” by the April 30 incident.
“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,” the statement said.
“We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this as new news arrives.”
A GoFundMe has since been set up for the woman with Trophy Eyes donating $5000 to the fundraiser.
One fan, who posted a video of the incident to Reddit, said it happened just two minutes into the first song.
“I left immediately once I saw the state she was in,” they said.
One user said they were directly beside her in the mosh and said the lead singer was “clearly devastated” upon realising the severity of the situation.
“As soon as we heard her say she was scared and couldn’t move we knew it wasn’t good,” they wrote.
“I am curious how this will affect the rest of the tour.”
The show was a part of the band’s 2024 US tour which has continued since the injury.
In a statement, the venue’s manager Mike Thor said there was a “no moshing” 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,” the manager of Buffalo’s Mohawk Place wrote in a statement.
“Our policy and practised procedure is a full show stop for any stage diving which was put into place for this incident.
“Currently we are working to put together a charity show to help the injured party with their go fund me.”
One of Piche’s family friends said she had since undergone “extensive surgery”.
“She has a long recovery ahead and will need all the help she can get,” she wrote.
“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.”