Trophy Eyes Share Statement About Fan’s Spinal Injury Caused By Frontman Stagediving In Buffalo
Trophy Eyes’ show Tuesday in Buffalo quickly took a devastating turn. The Newcastle, Australia pop-punk/melodic hardcore band had just begun their set at Mohawk Place when singer John Floreani stagedived into the crowd, flouting the venue’s policy prohibiting the maneuver. In the process, a woman named Bird Piché was badly hurt. On Reddit, someone who claimed to have been standing next to her wrote, “As soon as we heard her say she was scared and couldn’t move we knew it wasn’t good.”
A GoFundMe set up after the show revealed Piché suffered “a catastrophic spinal cord injury” and underwent “extensive surgery.” It continues, “She has a long recovery ahead and will need all the help she can get. It is still too early to know what her prognosis is but after leaving the hospital she will need to go to a rehab facility. She will obviously not be able to work during this time.”
Today, Trophy Eyes posted a statement about the incident to their social media accounts, which reads as follows:
As the result of a tragic accident on the night of April 30th, a Trophy Eyes fan was injured at our Buffalo NY show. We elected to immediately shut down the show as John accompanied them to the hospital with their family.
Out of respect for the family, we have refrained from speaking about this publicly so far, but with the blessing of their family we are now able to say how truly heartbroken we are to be here now. Our friend, Bird, is now in recovery, but still has a long road ahead for them. A gofundme has been set up by their family, you can donate below.
This situation has shaken us all to our core, and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time. Please, keep Bird in your thoughts. We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this as new news arrives.
Yours faithfully, Trophy Eyes
As The PFP points out, this is not the first time stagediving at Mohawk Place has led to a spinal injury. In 2011, a man named Mike Bird suffered multiple broken vertebrae at a Terror and Trapped Under Ice show after being knocked down by a stagediver. (What a strange coincidence that both of the injured people were named Bird.)
The PFP also notes that Trophy Eyes faced controversy related to stagediving last year. When someone who attended the band’s show at the Masquerade in Atlanta chastised the band for creating an unsafe environment by “encouraging mosh pits and crowd surfing,” the band replied in the comments, “fuck you.”
Below, see footage of the stagedive that injured Piché, as well as the band’s post with the statement.
