A stage collapse before a Radiohead concert in Toronto took the life of the band's drum technician Scott Johnson and injured three others in 2012. Five years on, the legal case that followed the incident has been declared a mistrial.
Multiple sources confirm that prosecutors declared a mistrial was declared after presiding judge, Justice Shaun Nakatsuru, was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court. Following his appointment, Justice Nakatsuru ruled he no longer had jurisdiction over the case.
The delay could jeopardize the case due to new time limits established by the Supreme Court of Canada last year. The rules state that cases heard in provincial court should go to trial within 18 months, while those heard in Superior Court should go to trial within 30 months.
As previously reported, promoters Live Nation Canada and Live Nation Ontario faced four charges each from the Ontario Ministry of Labour over the incident. Toronto's Optex Staging and Services is also facing four charges and an individual engineer, Domenic Cugliari, is facing one charge of endangering a worker as a result of negligence.
In 2013, Live Nation denied any wrongdoing, saying, "We absolutely maintain that Live Nation and our employees did everything possible to ensure the safety of anyone who was on or near the stage involved in the tragic incident that led to the unfortunate death of Mr. Scott Johnson."
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway called Johnson "a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew" following the incident. Johnson was 33 at the time of the stage collapse.
Multiple sources confirm that prosecutors declared a mistrial was declared after presiding judge, Justice Shaun Nakatsuru, was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court. Following his appointment, Justice Nakatsuru ruled he no longer had jurisdiction over the case.
The delay could jeopardize the case due to new time limits established by the Supreme Court of Canada last year. The rules state that cases heard in provincial court should go to trial within 18 months, while those heard in Superior Court should go to trial within 30 months.
As previously reported, promoters Live Nation Canada and Live Nation Ontario faced four charges each from the Ontario Ministry of Labour over the incident. Toronto's Optex Staging and Services is also facing four charges and an individual engineer, Domenic Cugliari, is facing one charge of endangering a worker as a result of negligence.
In 2013, Live Nation denied any wrongdoing, saying, "We absolutely maintain that Live Nation and our employees did everything possible to ensure the safety of anyone who was on or near the stage involved in the tragic incident that led to the unfortunate death of Mr. Scott Johnson."
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway called Johnson "a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew" following the incident. Johnson was 33 at the time of the stage collapse.