A couple whose 19-year-old daughter died of a drug overdose during a rave at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in Pomona last summer are suing the promoters and several other defendants, alleging her death could have been prevented.
The parents of Katie Dix of Camarillo are seeking unspecified damages on wrongful death, negligence, premises liability and public nuisance allegations.
The suit names as defendants Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Fair Association, security agency Staff Pro Inc. and the city of Pomona.
Representatives for Live Nation and the Fair Association did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit brought on behalf of Mark and Pamela Dix, their daughter was about to enter her second year of college when she went to the first day of Hard Summer Music Festival last Aug. 1.
The suit maintains that the defendants knew or should that the drug Ecstasy is "commonly ingested at raves" and that it would be distributed and consumed at Hard Fest.
The defendants “turned a blind eye to the known risks in order to capitalize on teenagers and young adults who believed they were attending a safe party environment” sanctioned by the city of Pomona and Los Angeles County, the suit alleges. The rave fans also believed there were would be sufficient security and emergency personnel, according to the suit.
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Katie Dix consumed what she thought was pure Ecstasy, often called “Molly,” but she instead consumed high levels of so-called “bath salts” that caused her to show common signs of a drug overdose, according to the complaint.
Although there were 65,000 in attendance, there were only four medical stations and those who treated the young woman -- who was found unresponsive -- were not properly trained, the suit states.
She was later taken to Pomona Valley Medical Center, where she died.
The plaintiffs allege that "had medical treatment at Hard Fest been timely and proper, Katie Dix would have been saved."
Another festival attendee, 18-year-old UCLA student Tracy Nguyen, also overdosed on Ecstasy and died before the plaintiffs' daughter ingested the drug, the suit states.
Some 50 others present at the festival also experienced drug-induced seizures and comas, “overwhelming emergency rooms with teenagers and young adults,” the suit states.
