Fan Who Suffered Severe Spinal Injury at Pop-Punk Show Offers Update
Update: Bird Piché, who was badly injured when Trophy Eyes singer John Floreani landed on her while stage diving at a concert, has revealed to NBC News that she's expecting a full recovery.
"I'm going to rehab either later today or tomorrow, but they do think I'll have full recovery," Piché said. "Nothing is certain, obviously, but they are predicting l will have full recovery of everything."
She explained that she has "gross motor skills," meaning the most basic movements of her arms and legs. She added that she hopes to attain "fine motor skills" and the ability to make intricate finger and toe movements to achieve basic, everyday tasks.
"So my legs, it's involuntary, have been kicking a lot lately. I can't control it," said Piché. "My arms, they're — besides my hand dexterity — almost fully there. My fingers don't have full movement."
Her mother added, "It's going to be a long road, but the early signs are so promising. It's exciting."
A recent show by the Aussie pop-punk outfit Trophy Eyes was shut down early after a horrible accident happened to one of their fans when singer John Floreani stage dove into the crowd. One of the concert attendees, 24-year-old Bird Piché, suffered a severe spinal cord injury and required extensive surgery in the aftermath of their collision.
The injury took place during the band's Buffalo stop at the Mohawk Place on Tuesday, April 30, according to local Buffalo station The New 96.1.
Video of the Floreani's stage dive (Viewer warning) has been posted to Reddit and can be viewed below. However the clip doesn't really show any of the immediate reaction to Piche's injury, as the singer initially continues to be tossed around the audience before the video footage ends.
The Aftermath
Upon discovery of the injury, the show was stopped and singer John Floreani accompanied Bird to the hospital. The band issued a statement about what happened after the events of the night unfolded.
The group shared on social media:
As a result of a tragic accident on the night of April 30th, a Trophy Eyes fan was injured at our Buffalo, N.Y. show. We elected to immediately shut down the show as John accompanied them to the hospital with their family.
Out of respect for the family, we have refrained from speaking about this publicly so far, but with the blessing of the family we are now able to say how truly heartbroken we are to be here now. Our friend, Bird, is now in recovery, but still has a long road ahead for them. A GoFundMe has been set up by the family. You can donate below.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/birdforever
This situation has shaken us all to our core, and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time. Please, keep Bird in your thoughts. We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this as news arrives. Yours faithfully, Trophy Eyes.
Bird's GoFundMe
A GoFundMe was started by a family friend for Bird, with a goal of $100K to help out with medical expenses and recovery. The band initially donated $5,000, while at press time over $44,000 of the goal had been met.
According to the person who started the account, Bird had recently began running and finished second place in a recent race in her age group. The intro to the GoFundMe noted that there is a long recovery ahead and it is too early to know what the prognosis will be after leaving the hospital, but physical rehab will be needed.
Donations are being taken here.
The Venue's Tragic Past
Sadly for the venue, this is not the first significant injury incurred by a concertgoer. Back in 2011, a man suffered two broken vertebrae after being struck by a stage diver. Surgery was required and a lawsuit almost financially sunk the venue.
As such, Mohawk Place had banned stage diving by bands and patrons, so Floreani's decision to dive into the crowd would have been in violation of the ban.
READ MORE: Concertgoer in Wheelchair Stage Dives During Festival Show
In 2023, Trophy Eyes' concert actions were calling into question by one concertgoer, with an exchange between the band and the concertgoer going viral. The fan had stated in the comments of a tour announcement post from the group that after attending a show in Atlanta that they felt unsafe after the band had encouraged moshing and crowd surfing. As reported by Metal Injection, in a since deleted response, the group posted "fuck you," On the Instagram post in question, it appears as though comments have been disabled.
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Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
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