Teen recalls trying to stop Travis Scott show as concertgoers were "doing anything they could to just survive"
Ayden Cruz and his girlfriend were in the crowd at the Astroworld festival when the crowd started surging toward the stage where Travis Scott was performing
The couple was pushed to the ground, along with 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez.
"Like there was people doing anything they could to just survive," Cruz told CBS News.
As the crowds continued to surge, Cruz realized that this was a life-or-death situation and he needed to get help to save their lives.
"I just felt like no one else was going to do it, and it would save Bri and it would save those people that were beneath my feet," Cruz said.
In a now-viral video, Cruz can be seen pleading with a camera operator to stop the show. But the show went on and Rodriguez would be one of the eight killed that night.
On Tuesday, legal teams for some of the victims combed through the site gathering evidence amid a growing number of lawsuits against festival organizers.
Hundreds were injured at the festival, including 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who remains in critical condition after he fell from his father's shoulders when his father passed out, causing Ezra to be trampled in the crowd.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Blount's family, said Tuesday that the boy has been placed in a medically induced coma to combat severe brain, liver and kidney trauma.
"It is truly every parent's worst nightmare," Crump told CBS News' Lilia Luciano.
How parts of the crowd spun out of control remains a central question. In the 2019 Netflix documentary "Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly," Scott's security team explains to event staff at a different venue what to expect from the audience. "You see a lot of kids who are just trying to get out to safety because they can't breathe, cause it's so compact," he said.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said while the 2019 Astroworld festival had some medical incidents, Friday night was unprecedented and he expressed frustration that the show continued even after his department declared a mass casualty event.
"In the plan, it's outlined that the event directors were the ones that were responsible for essentially pulling the plug," Peña said.
CBS News reached out to Scott and event organizers but has not heard back.
Harris County Judge Lena Hidalgo, the county executive in the Houston area, is leading the call for an independent investigation.
Chief Peña said while he has full confidence in the local police department, he thinks an independent investigation "couldn't hurt."
