Concertgoer describes her experience at Red Rocks after hailstorm: "The scariest 15 minutes of my life"
Nearly 100 people were injured Wednesday night at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, after a vicious hailstorm would begin just before 9:30 p.m., sending seven people to the hospital.
This was before artist Louis Tomlinson would even take the stage, leading the concert to be canceled.
One of those concertgoers is Christina Carbone who flew in from Florida with her girlfriend to attend their first-ever concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
They thought a concert at the venue would be fun, but it would soon turn into a real-life nightmare.
"The scariest 15 minutes of my life," Carbone expressed. "I've been through quite a few hurricanes since I am from Florida and those seem more predictable and we just didn't know when this was going to end."
They quickly tried to find shelter after the venue's third warning, advising concertgoers to find shelter in their vehicles.
However, Carbone and her girlfriend did not have a vehicle at the venue. They took the shuttle.
"We were just huddled with our backs to the elements and I had a bag that I put over my head to protect my head," Carbone said. She said they were against the wall, trying to stay safe.
Many did the same thing, some even putting a trashcan over their head, trying to avoid the non-stop hail and rain that wouldn't stop pouring down.
"It was just eight to 10 minutes of nonstop being pelted on your arms, your head. If you had a bag on your head then your fingers were being pelted by huge pieces of hail," Carbone described.
Carbone was one of nearly 100 people who suffered injuries during the storm, many others posted their injuries on social media.
One woman posted her sister's face on Twitter, which was covered in blood from the hail stones.
Carbone also has a couple of bruises on her leg, arm and fingers.
She says the venue needs to be prepared for things like this.
"There was a lot of misinformation of where the shuttles were and so, we were being told to go to one side of the venue and we needed to be on the complete other side of the venue. So, better communication and I think they need to do maybe some drills," Carbone added.
Though many were devastated by the cancellation of the event, people like Carbone said they hope to be able to attend the rescheduled event and would still love a chance to check out the Red Rocks venue on a good weather day.
Louis Tomlinson tweeted to his fans saying he hopes they can hang on to their tickets, as they are looking to reschedule the event.
Red Rocks initially responded to fans with a joke about Mother Nature and then backtracked and addressed the issue with CBS News Colorado.
"I think we are going to lean in a little harder on telling fans to keep one eye on the stage and one eye on the sky, and when we say it's time to take shelter- do it fast- that means it's an emergency situation," said Red Rocks spokesman Brian Kitts.
The City of Denver operates Red Rocks Amphitheatre and is investigating reports that staff members refused to give concertgoers shelter or refused to help people running for safety as they were pelted with hail.
