INDIANAPOLIS — A woman who witnessed the aftermath of a man falling during a Motley Crue concert Tuesday night at Lucas Oil Stadium says more safety measures need to be in place to avoid another incident she described as “absolutely horrible.”
The concertgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, says she was in the second row of section 416 when suddenly, someone fell on top of her boyfriend.
She says her boyfriend was standing on the landing outside of the seats, and she had to grab him to keep him from falling as well.
“I got him back in our aisle, and that is when I saw the man who was on the ground next to where my bf [boyfriend] was standing,” the woman described.
The woman said as she was yelling for help, she saw the man was unconscious, and blood immediately started pooling out from under him. Pictures she shared showed blood on several steps underneath the man.
Shawn Graves attended the concert with his family and said he had been watching the man all night. Graves said he was stumbling and IMPD said it was discovered that the man was “extremely intoxicated.”
“It was a trip — it was definitely traumatic,” Graves said.
Graves said he saw the man walk up the stair briefly and then he stumbled and jumped. Somehow the man went over the glass barrier and fell roughly 30 feet on to the concrete stairs below.
“He wasn’t moving,” Graves said. “I figured he was dead.”
The woman says she believed the blood was coming from the back of the man’s head and said he may have hit it on a plastic barricade in the stair area.
According to the witness, the man was unconscious for “quite some time” and she did not see paramedics perform CPR. She also said it felt like there was a delay in the paramedics arriving.
“The time it took to get medics there to help was ridiculous. People around were trying to help, but there was just blood everywhere. Time is of the essence when it comes to injuries like this, especially due to blood loss.”
“We were told from a couple who saw him trip or lose balance, that he was at the top of the section.”
Witness
The woman said the stairways at Lucas Oil are “so steep” that she’s surprised more people don’t fall during events, even attendees who are sober.
“Safety should be first! The seating needs to have larger walk ways and more room for seats as well,” she expressed.
However, Graves said he doesn’t fault Lucas Oil.
“It’s not like he just walked over and fell over a ledge because he didn’t he put some effort into it,” Graves said
According to police, the man was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive. An Eskenazi official confirmed, saying, “while the person is pretty banged up, they will likely be fine.”
The Capital Improvement Board, which operates the stadium, declined interview requests but released a statement:
“Lucas Oil Stadium and our contractors work tirelessly to maintain the highest safety standards and best practices with regard to the physical structure and operations of the stadium, including observation of the NFL’s standards,” a spokesperson said. “Additionally, every person that works or volunteers with Sodexo Live!, our food service provider, must complete rigorous training around service of food and alcohol.”
The woman said staff reseated her party in a lower level, but she and her boyfriend had no desire to watch the rest of the concert.
“We sat there for about a few minutes and couldn’t stay. We were and are both traumatized.”
