With temperatures in the Southwestern United States rising to historic levels and the Electric Daisy Carnival’s history with attendee deaths, it came as a bit of a surprise that several days passed without any reports of fatalities after the 2016 festival ended last weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That all changed today when a young woman from Southern California’s Inland Empire was reported as deceased by her family. She was hospitalized on the final day of the three day electronic festival and was declared legally dead at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. The deceased has been identified as Kenani Kaimuloa of Temecula, CA.
While doctors have declared her cause of death to be heat stroke, exhaustion and dehydration, it is not yet known if drugs contributed to her passing. Toxicology tests will take weeks to complete, so complete cause of death may not be known until late July. The 20 year old woman was waiting in line for a shuttle when she collapsed and began convulsing and her friends called 911.
According to family members, EMTs were unable to reach the unconscious Kaimuloa due to the heavy traffic and crowds that accompany the massive festival. Sources reported to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that it took up to 10 minutes for the emergency team to reach the woman, whose heart stopped at the festival and had a body temperature of 110 degrees. The high that day in Las Vegas was 109 degrees.
Insomniac Holdings, the company that puts on festival made a statement following her death:
“We were shocked and saddened to learn that a young woman who had attended the festival passed away today, June 23, 2016. Our sincerest thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends of the woman. While the cause of this tragedy has not yet been determined, we ask everyone to keep her loved ones in their prayers during their time of grieving.”
The festival has a long and difficult history with drug-related deaths, averaging one per year. The deaths are typically a result of ecstasy or MDMA consumption. The festival moved from its original location in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2011 after a 15 year old managed to get into the festival and died from MDMA.
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