After a concertgoer died in the audience at the Carson music festival on Saturday, a performer was outraged that the show continued while the deceased was still on the festival grounds.
On Saturday at Carson’s Anderson Memorial Park, Altadena native Shari Sanders was found unconscious in the VIP section of the city’s annual jazz festival.
Festival participant Dr. Dionne Leslie told KTLA she performed CPR on Sanders before paramedics arrived. “[I was] “Just trying to get that woman to breathe air and get her to look up at that moment, I thought she was going to make it,” Leslie told KTLA.
Sanders was later pronounced dead after what his family described as heat-related illness. The cause of death is still under investigation.
Representatives for the city of Carson and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Carson station did not immediately return requests for information or comment.
Legendary percussionist and soloist Sheila E., who headlined the festival, criticized organizers for allowing the show to continue before Sanders’ body was removed around 5 p.m.
“If I had known his body was still there with his family, I would never have gone on stage,” Sheila E. said in a video statement after the festival. “The production, whoever, the city, the mayor was there. You all should have stopped the festival. I’m sorry. You should have stopped the festival.”
The drummer said he was troubled by the lack of water stations available and feared the triple-digit temperatures posed a risk to fans.
“We heard… there was only one water station, which was unfortunate because there wasn’t enough water for everyone,” he said. “Carson, you’ve got to do better. That was terrible. Terrible. And I’m so sorry I stole because I wouldn’t have been able to go onstage if I’d known he was still there.”