Photo Credit: Marv Watson
Three rave-goers died this weekend after attending HARD Summer Festival at the Auto Club Speedway near Fontana. The festival has previously been held at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in Pomona, but has since moved after two college students died of drug overdoses during last year’s rave. This year the victims were Derek Lee, 22 of San Francisco, Alyssa Dominguez, 21 of San Diego, and Roxanne Ngo, 22 of Chino Hills. Lee and Dominguez were pronounced dead on Sunday, while Ngo died on Monday. The causes of death are still being investigated by officials. One was said to have been experiencing chest pain, another was found unresponsive, and the third had a seizure. The event brought in their largest crowd yet, at 147,000 people. Besides the three, six other rave-goers were sent to the hospital.
Tragedies like these have prompted discussions about the need for tighter controls on raves. On Saturday, the family of Katie Dix filed lawsuit against the HARD Summer festival. Dix died last August after consuming what she thought was pure Molly at the rave. Her cause of death was cardiac arrest after not receiving medical attention for over an hour after she had collapsed. Her parents, Mark and Pamela Dix, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Fair Association, Los Angeles County, the city of Pomona, and Live Nation for negligence.
These incidents do not stand alone. They are becoming alarmingly common across the U.S, especially in Southern California. Since 2006, there have been 24 drug related deaths at various raves. At the same event where Katie Dix died, 49 other attendees were rushed to the hospital. Ecstasy is dangerous at festivals especially in the summer due to rising temperatures. Dehydration, organ failure, and seizures are among the problems one exposes themselves to when consuming Ecstasy at summer festivals.
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