Wheelchair Fan Skewered At AC/DC Gig

1:13pm UK, Monday March 01, 2010

Neal Walker, Sky News Online

A quadriplegic man has been seriously injured at an AC/DC concert after his friend hit the joystick of his motorised wheelchair, catapulting him into the mosh pit.


AC/DC were playing the second of two shows in Brisbane when the incident occurred


Witnesses said a metal pin used by the 31-year-old man to manoeuvre objects embedded in his eye as his chair crashed more than a metre to the floor of Brisbane's Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre.

The venue is facing criticism for not placing a proper barrier in front of the wheelchair podium.

The platform had side and rear barriers, but the only barrier at the front of the podium was a strip of timber and plastic caution tape.

The incident happened as more than 45,000 fans enjoyed the legendary Aussie rockers' second of two sold-out shows in the city.

The man's friend accidentally struck the joystick with his hand, and the wheelchair shot forward and fell off the platform.

A witness said the man's friend was "shattered, just devastated by what happened".

Paramedics immediately attended to the injured man, a former truck driver who was paralysed in an accident.

A hospital official said the man is out of intensive care but remains in a serious, but stable condition.

Stadiums Queensland, the organisation which controls the venue, issued a statement saying it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

someone should pay for this mishap.

what's a wheelchair fan doing at an ac/dc gig?

Marky wrote:what's a wheelchair fan doing at an ac/dc gig?

Why shouldn't he be?
My cousin was born without legs and went to concerts, in fact she did far more than many able bodied people and this was before all the wheelchair access etc

Smudge wrote:

Marky wrote:what's a wheelchair fan doing at an ac/dc gig?

Why shouldn't he be?
My cousin was born without legs and went to concerts, in fact she did far more than many able bodied people and this was before all the wheelchair access etc

given your circumstances i can understand why you didn't get it or that when you do, you may not appreciate it.

Marky wrote:what's a wheelchair fan doing at an ac/dc gig?

get wat u mean Marky. He may have not been able to jump around like all other fans but he should be able to go 2 a concert without fear of being injured or killed. He may b in a wheelchair but he is still human and obviously enjoys ACDC concerts.

Marky wrote:what's a wheelchair fan doing at an ac/dc gig?

ah, just realised. should have read like...

what's a fan of wheelchairs doing at an ac/dc gig?





i was just about where the ramp levels off, three or four people into the crowd. day to remember.