A 9-year-old injured at the Astroworld Festival is in a medically induced coma, family says
By Raja Razek, CNN
A 9-year-old boy who was seriously injured at the Astroworld Festival on Friday night is in a medically induced coma in an attempt to overcome trauma to his brain, according to the boy’s grandfather.
Bernon Blount told CNN his grandson, EB, was in town to see “his favorite artist” and attended the concert with his father, Treston Blount.
“When my son went to the concert, he had my grandson on his shoulder,” Blount said. “All the people pushed in and he could not breathe so he ended up passing out because of all the pressure that was being applied to his body. And when he passed out, (EB) fell off his shoulder and fell into the crowd.”
When Bernon’s son came to, EB had already been taken to the hospital as a John Doe. “They did not know anything about him, his name or anything because he got separated from my son,” Bernon said.
When the father regained consciousness, “instead of being seen or getting himself checked out, he went and tried to find (EB) and ended up finding him at the Texas Children’s Hospital,” Blount said.
“During the event at the concert, he had cardiac arrest which damaged his heart,” he said. “He has damage to the liver, his lungs … and on top of that, he has swelling on his brain,” Blount said. CNN has not been able to independently confirm EB’s medical status with the hospital.
The family is “devastated because this was supposed to be a father-son outing for them to bond and it has turned into something horrible and tragic,” Blount said.
“There needs to be accountability, not just from the artist or the event planners, but also from the city of Houston,” Blount added.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Alex and Bob Hilliard have been retained by the parents of EB, according to a statement from the attorneys.
“The suffering that this family is going through is immeasurable. This little boy had his whole life ahead of him — a life that is currently hanging in the balance because of the reckless mismanagement that ensued at the Astroworld Festival,” Crump said.
The family has established a GoFundMe to support EB’s recovery.
This story has been updated with the family’s preferred reference for the 9-year-old victim.
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