1 useless, 2 injured in falls at San Francisco Phish live performance

A fan of the jam band Phish fell to his death, and two other concertgoers were injured in a separate fall at the Chase Center in San Francisco over the weekend.

Ryan Prosser, 47, of Athens, NY, died Sunday after falling from an upper deck and landing on empty seats below, and authorities say evidence suggests he may have jumped.

Concert goers alerted authorities around 8:55 p.m. during the band’s first set that a person needed medical attention after falling, San Francisco police officers said.

“We felt that blow. It was a remarkable blow, “one concert-goer said to KPIX 5.” One of my friends said, ‘Is it an earthquake?’ And the other said, ‘I think someone fell.’ I saw the body of a man who was shirtless draped over a seat. “

Officials who arrived at the scene worked to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead, said Robert Reuca, the San Francisco Police Department’s public intelligence officer.

Police have found no evidence of foul play in Prosser’s death, and the San Francisco Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office is investigating, authorities said.

“The investigation has evidence that the victim jumped from an elevated area of ​​the arena, causing them to fall a considerable distance, causing their injuries,” Reuca said. “Immediately before the victim jumped, it appeared to have no physical contact with a person.”

Kimberly Veale, a Chase Arena spokeswoman, said in a statement that arena officials are working with local authorities to find out what happened.

“We extend our condolences to the relatives of the guest,” she said.

About an hour after the first fall, at 9.45 p.m., officials were alerted of another incident in which a man fell from another area above and landed on a concert-goer below. Both were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries, the authorities said.

Evan Reeves, 44, of Oakland, was hit when an unidentified man fell on him, KPIX reported.

“It was a loud thump, then a sharp pain in my left leg and a guy’s head in my lap,” Reeves told the point of sale. “I immediately dragged myself a few meters away to get some distance so that he could be treated.”

Reeves said the venue allowed him to stay for the rest of the concert before being rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a broken leg.

He told reporters that he was originally seated in the second row of the upper deck but had moved down “because I didn’t feel safe dancing there”. He said he was concerned about the low plastic barriers in the upper sections.

Concert goers who witnessed the falls used social media to describe what they saw. Twitter user Bobby Moen said in a post that he was sitting in one of the top rows behind Possner when he saw him fall. After moving to another section, Moen later saw the second man fall.

“We’re shaken and going home early,” he tweeted.

Rebecca Studer, an occupational therapist from Oakland, was at the concert but didn’t see the falls. However, she posted an offer of 30-minute phone calls or zoom sessions on social media to help anyone who witnessed the events.

Studer said Tuesday she spoke to about a dozen people.

“Most of what people say revolves around the repetitive experiences of the landing noise, the blood scene of the picture of him over the seat he landed on, paramedics taking care of him, and the impulse to help but with no real skills, ”she said.

Studer, who has been an occupational therapist for five years, said that people who experience shock trauma or horror often have intrusive thoughts or repetitions of the event. “In the short term, it’s really important to find resources and social connections,” she said.

Until Wednesday, the band Phish had not officially commented on any of the falls.