Radiohead Share Statement On New Investigation Into Drum Tech’s Death In 2012 Stage Collapse
Back in 2012, a stage that Radiohead were scheduled to perform on in Toronto’s Downsview Park collapsed, killing their drum technician Scott Johnson. The following year, Live Nation (the event’s promoter), Optex Staging And Services, and an engineer were charged with 13 offenses, but the case stalled in court and the charges were stayed in 2016 due to the extended length of time since the incident. Today, the Ontario chief coroner has announced that a new investigation into the case will be opened to discover exactly how the stage collapsed. Radiohead issued a statement about the investigation:
Five years on from the Downsview Park Stage Collapse, we have learned that an inquest into Scott’s [sic] Johnson’s death will be formally announced later today. While this is welcomed, it does not bring those responsible for Scott’s death to account, and it provides no justice for Scott and his family. We urge the Canadian authorities to look more closely into their treatment of the Downsview Stage Collapse and indeed all workplace deaths to ensure that accidents such as this can be prevented in the future.
The inquest was spurred by a new CBC report about the stage collapse. In their reporting, they talked to Radiohead’s Philip Selway, who said that he was supposed to be on the stage at the time of the collapse where Johnson was located instead. “That is an incredible weight, and personally I can’t let this lie. I want to see a proper conclusion, something that is respectful to Scott,” Selway said. You can read the full CBC article here.