Parents of HARD Summer Fest Overdose Victim Sue Live Nation
The parents of Roxanne Ngo, a 22-year-old college student who died of an apparent overdose during 2016 HARD Summer Music Festival in California, are suing Live Nation, Billboard reports.
The lawsuit, filed on July 31st by Ngo’s father Hai Ngo in San Bernardino Superior Court, claims negligence and wrongful death. The suit alleges Live Nation had inadequate police and security for the event, argues that the EDM-oriented festival’s four medical tents were insufficient for the 147,000 festival attendees and also accuses the organization of not providing enough drinking water for the event.
The lawsuit alleges that the company “oversold the event and created an atmosphere that was over attended, overcrowded and dangerous,” adding that organizers “put profits ahead of the safety of the HARD fest attendees including Roxanne Ngo.”
A representative for Live Nation told Rolling Stone that they do not comment on ongoing litigation.
Three people died during the 2016 festival, which was held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California (in 2015 it was held at Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, where two teenage girls died of reported drug overdoses). The San Bernardino coroner said the official cause of death for all three was “acute MDMA toxicity,” according to Los Angeles Times. MDMA is the formal name for the illegal drug Ecstasy, which is also known as Molly.
This year, the festival was moved to Glen Haven Amphitheater in Devore, California for its 10th anniversary. As Billboard notes, 107 people were arrested and 19 were hospitalized, but no one died.