A 22-year-old O’Fallon woman died early Sunday, after she attended an eight-hour-long electronic music concert at the Crystal City Underground, just east of Crystal City.
More than 4,000 people attended the event, which was open to people 18 and older and ran from 8 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday.
Not long after 4 a.m., the woman collapsed while she and some of her friends were waiting for a taxi outside “the cave,” said Lt. Col. Steve Meinberg of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman was unresponsive and was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City, where she was pronounced dead, Meinberg said.
He said the woman appeared to be under the influence of something before she collapsed, but authorities need a report from the Medical Examiner’s Office before a cause of death is determined.
Meinberg said it could be six weeks before the Sheriff’s Office receives the report.
In the meantime, the case is under investigation, Meinberg said.
Police and ambulance personnel were called to “the rave” several times, authorities said.
Organizers of the event, which debuted last year, called it the One Knight UnderGround show.
Crystal City Police Chief Jeff McCreary said his officers were called there three times.
“I can only characterize it as a disaster,” he said. “At 12:28 a.m., we received a phone call requesting traffic control assistance. Initially, we were told they were busing customers in from Lowe’s. We went there to assist and keep people from entering the area. Our point of contact with everybody was at the end of our city limits.”
The facility is at 700 Crystal Ave. in the unincorporated part of Jefferson County.
“At quarter to 2, we were dispatched for assistance to JPAD (Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District) that one or both of their medical personnel who responded had been assaulted,” McCreary said. “That was near the entrance to the venue. In that incident, there was a violent and uncooperative patient who appeared to be on narcotics. After the person was gotten under control (and transported to Mercy by JPAD), we stayed with that patient until 5:24 in the morning to keep him from assaulting hospital staff.
“At 4:18 we were again asked to respond and assist JPAD for an unresponsive subject. We assisted JPAD in the parking area where there was a white female (the 22-year-old O’Fallon woman) who was unresponsive. She was a potential overdose fatality. She died at Mercy.”
McCreary said his police department doesn’t usually assist JPAD with calls, but in this case, it seemed appropriate.
“We’d had an assault and assisted with traffic. So we had indications that it was something bigger than what they (the Underground) probably could handle,” he said.
“At about 4:40 a.m., we got a request from the Sheriff’s Office to help with a disturbance in the cave. We couldn’t locate the disturbance. We helped block intersections at the highway so JPAD could get through there to the hospital with the previous call.”
Both Meinberg and McCreary called the event “a rave.”
“They can call it what they want, but it was a rave party, which involves loud music and lights that enhance the effect of ecstasy and other drugs,” McCreary said.
Attorney says efforts were made to keep event safe
Attorney Bob Kister, who represents the Underground owner Tom Kerr, said he and his client were sad to hear about the woman’s death.
“I was there most of the night to help coordinate things and make it a safe, fun event,” Kister said. “I left about 2 a.m., and after that, something happened with someone who appeared to be a highly intoxicated or impaired individual. She was outside the cave when it became obvious she had overdosed.
“My clients and I feel terrible for the poor young lady and her family and our hearts go out to her. We feel a terrible situation happened, despite our best efforts, and we hope to have better efforts next year.”
Kister said his client took steps to try to make the event safe.
For example, organizers did not let attendees park at the Underground, but instead had them park south of the Festus Do It Best Lumber and the Lowe’s store and then ride in shuttle buses to the cave.
“We did that at the recommendation of the Sheriff’s Office,” Kister said. “At the cave itself, there’s about 400 parking spots, so we knew that wouldn’t be adequate. Plus, coming in and out of the Underground, there’s a bridge that’s only one lane wide. So, because of that and because we wanted to make sure patrons wouldn’t be able to go to their vehicles and get alcohol or controlled substances from their cars, we had them park at the remote location.”
Also, security personnel searched people before they entered the cave, Kister said.
People 21 and older needed IDs to be served alcohol, and the bar closed at 1:30 a.m., Kister said.
“But, if you get 4,000 young people from 18 to their early 30s on a Saturday night, statistically you’re likely to run into people who are doing things they ought not do,” Kister said.
He said an estimated 4,500 people attended the event, which was more than twice what organizers expected.
He said Boogie Knights, a St. Louis music promoter, leased the Underground to put on the show, which featured several live bands and DJs playing inside the cave.
This was the second year for the One Knight UnderGround show at the Crystal City venue. Last year, about 1,000 people attended and organizers expected about 2,000 this year, Kister said.
Since the crowd was so large, there also were problems with parking and shuttle buses, with some people waiting 2 1/2 to 3 hours for rides to and from the cave, Kister said.
“We did not have an adequate number of shuttle buses, so waits at the remote parking location were unacceptably long,” he said.
Some people were still being shuttled from the cave to the remote parking at 7 a.m., Kister said.
The Sheriff’s Office had deputies on hand throughout the night and morning to “monitor” the event, Meinberg said.
“It’s hard to manage that many people in that kind of environment, so we had people on the scene observing,” he said. “It was a normal night for a rave.”
Man being treated assaults JPAD staff
The Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District was called to the event three times, administrator Curt Stueve said.
“Two were to the Crystal City Underground itself,” Stueve said. “Another was to the area where they were transporting people from.”
During one of the calls, Stueve said, the man who was being treated assaulted two ambulance district personnel.
“We had one gentleman who was under the influence of something – we’re not sure what – and he was very combative,” Stueve said. “He did assault two of our people.”
Stueve said the medical personnel involved didn’t require medical attention.
He said the promoter had hired medics who were on the premises during the event. “They treated people until we got there,” Stueve said.
Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said his department got a call at about 9 p.m. about people who appeared intoxicated at the remote parking area.
At about 6 a.m., Festus Police arrested a man who was urinating on the remote parking lot, Lewis said.
“I also understand a bunch of them were staying at a hotel and did damage,” McCreary added.
Despite the problems, similar events are planned at the cave, Kister said.
“The people inside were thrilled with the uniqueness of the Crystal City Underground and were having such a good time,” he said.
Stueve said he and other emergency responders need to talk about how to handle this type of event in the future.
McCreary said there have been problems at the Underground before.
“Obviously this has come up before, that he (Kerr) is unregulated over there and does as he pleases. It’s obviously an issue.”
Kister said more precautions will be taken in the future.
“We are working with the Sheriff’s Office as they conduct their investigation to determine what happened and will take into account all their recommendations to see what we can do to keep this a safe event.”
Volleyball and Frisbee golf tournaments, boat rides and other events are regularly held at the Underground, Kister added.
Kerr owns the limited liability corporation, the Fiesta Corp., which owns the Underground.
Patrick Martin and Peggy Scott provided some reporting.