Radiohead’s scheduled performance in Toronto this past Saturday — what would’ve been their first show in the city in roughly four years — was cancelled following a fatal stage collapse at Downsview Park. The collapse occurred at around 4 PM the same day and left one person dead and three people injured. One of the injured was transported to Sunnybrook Hospital with a “serious but non-life-threatening head injury,” according to the CBC, and two others sustained minor injuries that allowed them to forgo significant medical treatment. The one fatality has since been revealed to be Radiohead’s drum technician, Scott Johnson, 33, from Doncaster, England. Radiohead’s website currently offers this statement in reaction:
“We have all been shattered by the loss of Scott Johnson, our friend and colleague. He was a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew. We will miss him very much. Our thoughts and love are with Scott’s family and all those close to him.”
Investigators from the Toronto police and the provincial Ministry of Labour are still trying to determine what exactly caused the stage’s collapse and specifically whether safety standards were properly followed by staff working at the event. One witness describes a crackling sound, followed by twisting and snapping of the stage’s back scaffolding. Also, in contrast to the widely-publicized stage collapse last year at a Sugarland concert in Indiana, the weather was reportedly calm at the time of the incident.
• Radiohead: http://radiohead.com