HOUSTON — The family of Axel Acosta Avila, a 21-year-old who died at the Astroworld Festival Friday night, plans to sue rapper Travis Scott, promoter Live Nation and others.
Axel was one of eight people who lost their lives in the chaos during Scott's concert.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee announced Monday he will be representing Axel's family and at least 35 others who plan to sue.
“I think it's self-evident that this concert was planned incredibly poorly," Buzbee said during a press conference with Axel's family on Monday. "That no regard was given to the safety of these young people at the concert. That there was no emergency response mechanism in place to help those who were in an extreme situation. …There were more people than should have been."
Although an autopsy has not yet been released, Buzbee said Axel died from compressive asphyxiation, which is basically extreme compression of the body. Buzbee said this happened during the crowd rush when the air was literally squeezed of out Acosta's body.
"The immense force of the unruly and out of control of crowd created by the defendants' gross negligence created such significant pressure on to his body that he could not breathe," Buzbee said.
The defendants listed in the upcoming lawsuits, according to Buzbee, are:
- Scoremore, promotional event company
- Live Nation
- Contemporary Service Corporation, who he claims provided security
- Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation, the company that reportedly owns the site where the festival was held
- Travis Scott
Buzbee said he plans to file the lawsuit on behalf of Acosta and others in the coming days.
Travis Scott and Astroworld festival organizers are listed in several lawsuits that we know of and there could be more out there.
The first known lawsuit came out less than 24 hours after Friday’s tragedy.
The Kherkher Garcia Law firm is representing a 35-year-old concertgoer who they say was trampled.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a man who is seeking more than $1 million in damages, citing defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert safely.
“Our victim was crushed plain and simple,” attorney Tommy Kherkher said.
The lawsuit also accuses the Houston rapper of encouraging a culture of violence using prior incidents at past concerts as examples.
Buzbee said he plans to interview more concertgoers.