Chaos broke out at a downtown Atlanta MARTA station as Beyoncé concertgoers were injured in a stampede on an escalator, officials said Tuesday.
Fans were on their way home, moving down the escalator at the Vine City station just past midnight Tuesday, when someone screamed and ran, according to MARTA spokesperson Stephany Fisher. Witnesses told authorities a woman was “possibly startled by an insect,” she said.
Amber Anderson, in town from South Carolina with a friend for the final of Beyoncé’s four shows at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, was one of those fans and was eager to unpack her experience on the drive home. Instead, she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the ride was spent mostly in tears and silence.
“I literally said, ‘This concert was the best concert of my life, and that’s what we’re supposed to be talking about right now, not this,’” she recalled telling her friend. “The ride home was supposed to be happy … and we’re both crying because it could have been way worse.”
Anderson said she and her friend were standing close to the escalator when she heard screaming behind her, followed by pandemonium. MARTA officials said the screams prompted the stampede, which caused the escalator ”to temporarily speed up and then stop suddenly,” Fisher said. At least 11 people were injured.
The incident remains under investigation. It’s not clear when the escalators at Vine City were last inspected. The AJC has requested copies of inspection and maintenance logs.
Seven of those injured were taken to the hospital with “cuts and scrapes,” and one person had a broken ankle, Fisher confirmed.
Anderson was among those who fell down the escalator and ended up pinned under people. She described the harrowing scene to the AJC.
People were panicking and pushing toward the escalators to get away, and she was separated from her friend in the confusion, she said. At first, the escalator was operating normally as she went down. Then, it sped up, and she saw people in front of her begin to pile up.
“It felt like a roller coaster,” she said. “It really went down fast.”
Others on the escalator were being pushed under the bodies of people who had fallen, Anderson explained. She ended up pinned between two people.
“I’m preparing myself to be crushed,” Anderson said. “There’s literally nowhere to go.”
After the escalator stopped, Anderson said she was able to get to her feet and help several others off, including a young girl.
People at the bottom of the escalator were screaming, she said. She saw a trail of blood on the platform.
Rochelle Matthews, who also attended the concert, said she had just taken a step off the escalator when it started speeding up behind her. It made a loud clanging sound, and people started tumbling.
She and others started to pull people out of the pile.
“It was like people were playing Twister and all fell on top of each other,” Matthews said.
Anderson was eventually able to reunite with her friend, who remained on the concourse. Staff were hurrying people onto trains, so they left quickly, she said.
When they got off at their stop, Inman Park, Anderson said they saw two people waiting for medical attention there after at least one of them was injured at Vine City.
An estimated 64,284 people took MARTA to the four concerts in Atlanta, according to data from the transit agency. MARTA ran extra trains before and after each performance to increase service.
— This is a developing story. Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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