Marine Veteran And Arcadia Resident Recalls The Fight For His Life At Astroworld
HOUSTON (CBSLA) — Marine veteran and Arcadia resident Lucas Naccarati, 26, found himself in a fight for his life as rapper Travis Scott walked onto the stage.
"It is just when this massive wave or push came from behind and people started yelling and passing out and immediately I knew this is not ok. Something is going on."
Naccarati was one of the thousands of people pressed together at a music festival in Houston right before a large crowd began to push toward the stage squeezing the audience even tighter together.
"Immediately when we got pushed back and we fell is when I thought 'Dude you cannot fall. If you fall you're going to die,'" recalled Naccarati. "I remember thinking 'Do not fall do not fall do not fall.' That's when I kicked my leg back and stepped on anything I could.
Losing his footing and fighting for his life, the Marine veteran's training kicked in as he tried to weave his way out of the densely packed crowd.
"I took a deep breath I held it and whenever it opened up I pushed reverse," he said. It was really hard to breathe for sure."
Naccarati made it out of the crowd and to began to help those who fell amidst the sudden crowd surge to the front of the stage. During a news conference held on Saturday afternoon, city officials announced at least eight people were killed, all of whom were between the ages of 14 and 27, and dozens more were injured during Scott's set at his yearly music festival Astroworld.
According to the Fire Department, 50,000 people were present on the first night of the two-day festival.
Authorities said that at least 11 people suffered a cardiac arrest. Naccarati attempted CPR on two individuals.
"I tried doing CPR," he said. "I mean my thought was just on the staying alive song. And then she kind of just jolted and started breathing [heavily]."
Naccarati tried to help another man who he believed was trampled but he is unsure if the person survived.
"I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night," Scott said in a statement. "My prayers go out to the families and all those impact by what happened at Astroworld Festival."
Naccarati suffered injuries to his shoulder, back and feet but told CBS that he will return to California soon.