CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Salisbury man who attended Astroworld Festival in Houston over the weekend said he had to be in “survival mode” as he tried to get away from the crowds of people.
Marquis Wideman said he had been looking forward to the festival and Travis Scott’s performance for months.
"I really wanted to see Travis Scott,” said Wideman. “He's one of my top three favorite artists of all time."
However, Wideman said nothing could have prepared him for what he saw at the festival, including seeing people trampled in front of him.
"To actually see people get carried out on stretchers, see people like receiving like CPR treatment and whatnot, like I was not expecting that to happen at all,” said Wideman.
Officials said eight people were killed and dozens of others injured as the crowd surged during Travis Scott’s performance Friday night.
Wideman said the crowds had been hard to navigate the entire day prior to Scott’s concert.
"There were mosh pits,” said Wideman. “They were raging, like people jumping around, bouncing off other people and whatnot."
As Scott’s performance started, Wideman said he was to the left of the stage when he and the people he was with decided they needed to get out. He said they had to go against the crowd that was pushing toward the stage to get to the back and to a safe place.
Wideman said Scott stopped during his performance a few times to address issues he saw in the crowd. By the end, Wideman said he saw people still left on the ground and people walking out with distraught looks on their faces.
"People's shirts were off. People had no shoes on. I saw shoes on the ground,” said Wideman. “Like, it was really like a battle scene, like a war scene that just happened. People like walking away like I can't believe I just survived that, like they were literally like traumatized."
More than a dozen lawsuits have already been filed related to the incident.
"I think that's just the beginning,” said Shaun Naidoo, attorney at law. “I think you're going to see multiple lawsuits."
Naidoo said he believes conduct at past Travis Scott concerts and the security protocol will be heavily scrutinized.
“As an attorney, that’s one of the first places that we’ll look at is to see how adequately they were equipped for this type of crowd,” said Naidoo.
Wideman said he is thankful to have made it out and made it home safely.
"I'm definitely grateful that, you know, I had that realization to get out of there,” said Wideman, “cause there's no telling what could have happened."
Wake Up Charlotte To Go is a daily news and weather podcast you can listen to so you can start your day with the team at Wake Up Charlotte.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || TuneIn || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.