Zion Man Dies After Attending Heavy Metal Fest In Tinley Park

TINLEY PARK, IL — A Zion man died after witnesses reported seeing him fall to the ground during the Knotfest concert at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park Sunday night.

Richard Valadez, 62, of the 2300 block Galilee Avenue in Zion, was pronounced dead at 11:34 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of his death is not yet known, and an autopsy is pending, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said.

The circumstances of Valadez's death also are not yet clear. Tinley Park Fire Chief Forest Reeder said he did not have information because his department did not handle the emergency call.

"The Fire Department was not present for this incident at the amphitheater as the emergency medical services are provided by a private contractor for any on-site emergencies," he said.

Courtney Rourke, operations manager for Live Nation, did not respond to requests for comment. Live Nation is the amphitheater's venue operator.

However, distraught concertgoers at the heavy-metal music festival reported seeing Valadez suffer in distress while venue staff were slow and sometimes struggling to help him. Several attendees stepped in to try to assist the man and form a circle around him to keep the crowd from trampling him.

At first, witnesses said, Valadez appeared to be fine and to be enjoying himself while the music played. Levi Witvliet said Valadez stood next to him and his friend in section 206 of the lawn area and chatted for a while.

"He said he worked for Six Flags, and that he could get a deal for us," Witvliet of Lansing said. "But we didn't get a chance to get his number."

Brittany Ruel-Curtis of St. Anne, Illinois, said she watched Valadez, who was about 10 feet in front of her, chat up nearby people.

"He seemed fine throughout the concert, though, enjoying the music and drinks and talking to the people who sat in front of me," she said.

As the night wore on, mosh pits formed in the lawn section, witnesses said, as they often do at heavy metal concerts. Valadez joined in some of them and was slammed around with the other moshers. He was knocked to the ground at least once, according to witnesses.

"Basically everyone was jumping around in the mosh pit having a good time and just being friendly roughhousing dorks, as usual for metal concerts," said Anthony Mackey of Frankfort, IL.

But then, Mackey added, when headliner band Slipknot was about an hour into its set, playing the song "Sulfur," the man was hit too hard and fell out of the pit and into the grass. He was still in section 206, this time to the left of the central stairwell, if you are facing the stage, he said.

"He seized as people were trying to help him up, so we start calling for help," Mackey said.

However, several witnesses described the scene as confusing, and said that it appeared to take 15 to 25 minutes for staff and emergency personnel to assist Valadez.

Mackey said he and at least one other man tried to push back the crowd so people would not stomp on Valadez, who had fallen to the ground. Two men performed CPR on him. It was not clear Wednesday who those men were. Other people, witnesses said, shined flashlights from their phones and waved their arms to get guards' attention, and several people jumped fences to alert ticket-takers on the other side about the emergency. Witnesses also described seeing men carrying a stretcher toward Valadez. The men reportedly were not wearing emergency uniforms and were dressed as if they were heavy-metal fans attending the concert. It also was not clear who those men were.

Several people who saw what happened said that while they understood it must be difficult for the amphitheater's staff to manage an emergency during a loud concert with thick crowds, they were nevertheless disturbed by what seemed like the unacceptably long amount of time it took to not only reach Valadez, but to get him out of the concert area and to the parking lot.

"They definitely should have handled things better: More emergency presence for one. And a better way for people to alert that they need help," Ruel-Curtis said.

"Over all the whole venue just screwed the pooch on the entire thing," Mackey said. "No communication, no preparation, nothing."