A 24-year-old woman is partially paralysed after the lead singer of a band landed on her when he leapt offstage during a gig.
Bird Piche suffered a “catastrophic spinal cord injury” after the frontman of Australian punk rock band Trophy Eyes attempted to crowd surf at their concert at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, New York, on 30 April.
She was immediately rushed to hospital, and has still not regained full use of her hands or legs, she and her family told Sky’s US partner NBC News.
“We were even worried she wasn’t going to make it,” Amy Leigh Flaminio, Ms Piche’s mother, said.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Ms Piche, who has been a fan of the band since 2016, described how she was conscious throughout the incident and clearly remembered how singer John Floreani jumped backwards into the audience.
“It was, like, his body and my neck,” she told NBC. “It was a crowd-surfing thing.”
Trophy Eyes frontman John Floreani. Pic: Regi Varghese/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“It’s pretty typical at these kinds of shows,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I definitely didn’t expect to be in a hospital after the concert.
“When you hear about these types of injuries, they’re obviously very serious, so I didn’t expect to have any recovery.”
She added: “I have a long road ahead, but I’m very optimistic right now.”
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Since the incident, Ms Piche has regained “gross motor skills” – basic movement of her arms and legs – but will need extensive treatment to regain fine motor skills including intricate finger and toe movements that help with everyday tasks.
“So my legs, it’s involuntary, have been kicking a lot lately. I can’t control it,” Ms Piche said.
“My arms, they’re – besides my hand dexterity – almost fully there. My fingers don’t have full movement.”
She added: “Nothing is certain, obviously, but they are predicting l will have full recovery of everything.”
‘Truly heartbroken’
Trophy Eyes said they were “truly heartbroken” after the incident and that Floreani accompanied Ms Piche to the hospital after the show was cut short.
“Our friend, Bird, is now in recovery, but still has a long road ahead for them,” the band wrote in a post on X on 3 May.
“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.”
A representative for Trophy Eyes could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday by NBC News.
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The band donated $5,000 (£3,900) to a GoFundMe page set up for Ms Piche and encouraged others to donate. The fundraiser has raised more than $70,000 (£55,000) so far.
The four-piece band are still touring the US and are due to come to the UK in September, performing in multiple cities including Manchester, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
