Wolf Trap concert canceled after tour bus crushes worker to death
Live music's touring circuit runs on crews and equipment whose risks are rarely visible from the house seats, and seldom make headlines before a note is played. Thursday evening at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts…
Key takeaways
- A worker was crushed to death on Thursday evening when a supporting apparatus beneath a tour bus failed in the parking lot at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia.
- The scheduled 7:30 p.m. concert by English rock band Squeeze was canceled following the incident.
- U.S. Park Police responded at 5 p.m. and found the worker still underneath the bus, which the apparatus failure had brought down on him.
- The worker's identity had not been released by Park Police as of Thursday evening.
- Squeeze said it was deeply saddened and shocked and would work with the promoter and venue on possibly rescheduling the show.
Live music's touring circuit runs on crews and equipment whose risks are rarely visible from the house seats, and seldom make headlines before a note is played. Thursday evening at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia, they did. A man working on a tour bus in the venue's parking lot was crushed to death when a supporting apparatus beneath the vehicle failed, hours before showtime, according to U.S. Park Police. The English rock band Squeeze had been scheduled to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. The show was canceled.
Park Police said officers responded at 5 p.m. and arrived to find the worker still underneath the bus. The apparatus failure, they said, had brought the vehicle down on him. His identity was not released.
Wolf Trap posted to social media that an incident involving a community member had taken place at the park and that the night's show was canceled out of respect. Squeeze, for its part, issued a statement to Rolling Stone in which the band said it was deeply saddened and shocked, that the incident earlier in the day had resulted in the loss of a life, and that it would work with the promoter and the venue on the possibility of rescheduling. The band said it would communicate further with ticket holders as details became available and that its thoughts remained with everyone affected.
Crowd response
News of what had happened spread through the parking lot before the cancellation was formally announced. Some concertgoers left immediately. Many stayed, shaken. Fan Debbie Daniel told FOX 5 DC she had seen more than 15 emergency vehicles arrive, enough to tell those present that something serious had occurred. "It was horrible when we found out that happened," she told FOX 5 DC. Fellow fan Eric Anderson said he empathized with the worker's colleagues and agreed the decision to cancel was right. "Especially from what we're starting to understand about the circumstances, the show can't go on. And we understand that," Anderson said.
Park Police had not released the worker's identity as of Thursday evening.
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