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Axel Acosta, 21, and Brianna Rodriguez, 16, were among 10 concertgoers who were killed after a crowd surge at the festival last November
By James Hanley on 21 Oct 2022
The first wrongful death lawsuit settlements have been reached over last year’s Astroworld festival tragedy.
Axel Acosta, 21, and Brianna Rodriguez, 16, were among 10 concertgoers who were killed after a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s headline at the 50,000-cap festival in Houston, Texas last November, promoted by Live Nation and its Scoremore subsidiary. All of those who died suffered from compression asphyxia.
Announcing the claims brought by Acosta’s family against organisers have now been settled,” lawyer Tony Buzbee of the Buzbee Law Firm says: “Axel Acosta was a beloved son, brother, and student. He was kind and loving. He is greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers.”
In addition, court records show that Rodriguez’s family settled their lawsuit in July, although settlement terms have not been disclosed in either case.
Scott’s spokesperson Ted Anastasiou says that no member of the rapper’s legal team has participated in any settlement discussions
“Brianna Rodriguez was deeply loved and is terribly missed by her parents, her entire and extended family, her friends, and by her peers at Heights High School,” says a statement from Robin Blanchette and Troy Williams, attorneys for Rodriguez’s family. “Brianna’s memory will forever live within those whose lives she touched and through the nonprofit organisation, Dancing Through Bri, which has been created to provide scholarships to college-bound dancers and athletes.”
According to USA Today, Scott’s spokesperson Ted Anastasiou says that no member of the rapper’s legal team has participated in any settlement discussions. Live Nation is yet to comment.
Almost 5,000 people have claimed they were injured in the disaster, which unfolded on 5 November 2021. Earlier this year, the go-ahead was given for hundreds of Astroworld lawsuits to be formally consolidated into a single case.
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