Fan Injured by Stage Dive at Trophy Eyes Show Expects Full Recovery

Bird Piché has a severe spinal cord injury after frontman John Floreani landed on them

Photo: Chris Gee

BY Sydney BrasilPublished May 16, 2024

A 24-year-old who sustained a spinal cord injury after being stage-dived on at a Trophy Eyes show is expected to make a full recovery, as per NBC News.

Bird Piché underwent extensive surgery after lead singer John Floreani landed on them while jumping into the crowd at the band's show at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, NY, on April 30. While rumours that they had been permanently paralyzed circulated the internet, Piché has now shared that they've regained their gross motor skills, and are in the process of attaining fine motor skills.

"I'm going to rehab either later today or tomorrow, but they do think I'll have full recovery. Nothing is certain, obviously, but they are predicting l will have full recovery of everything," Piché remarked, also saying, "I have a long road ahead, but I'm very optimistic right now."

Stage diving, moshing and crowd surfing are all things that can happen at punk shows, but most fans are committed to ensuring each other's safety in these environments. Still, accidents can happen: "It's pretty typical at these kinds of shows," Piché added. "I didn't really know what to expect, but I definitely didn't expect to be in a hospital after the concert."

Since the incident, Trophy Eyes released a statement to their socials, sharing the GoFundMe in support of Piché's recovery, and donated $5,000 themselves. Piché and their family declined to comment on whether or not they will pursue legal action.

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