9 hurt in Earth Day concert accident

Nine spectators were rushed to local hospitals after a 20-foot sound tower and VIP tent collapsed onto a crowd that had gathered for the WBOS-FM Festival for the Earth concert on the Charles River Esplanade, officials said yesterday.

One person was knocked unconscious and another complained of severe pain after the tower pitched forward onto a large group of people crowded in front of the concert stage, said Bob Haley, supervisor of special operations for Boston's Emergency Medical Services.

The other seven people taken to hospitals were treated for bruises and lacerations, and none of the injuries were life-threatening, Haley said.

The scaffolding was holding several large speakers when it fell into the crowd, said oranizers of the concert, which was part of Boston's traditional Earth Day festivities at the Hatch Shell.

Organizers called the collapse a freak accident. Matt Mills, vice president and general manager of concert organizer Greater Media of Boston, blamed unusually strong gusting winds.

"It was an act of God," he said. "A gust of wind came up under our banner, which was on top of the tent, and just pulled it all down."

Several of the injuries were caused by trampling as people tried to escape the falling equipment.

The victims were in their late teens to early 20s. Yesterday's winds ranged from 15 to 22 miles per hour in Boston with gusts of up to 31 miles per hour, according to Tracy McCormick, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.The incident, which occurred between sets at 1:30 p.m. didn't stop the show, Mills said. As ambulances drove away, the band Third Eye Blind took the stage. Audiences cheered, sang, and danced as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

"It was a freak accident," Mills said. "It was unfortunate."

With more than 60,000 fans basking in yesterday's sunshine, he said, organizers decided it was safer to keep the music rolling.

"We didn't want to stop it," Mills shouted over screeching guitar riffs. "There is big crowd here. They came to see the concert, and it would've turned into a riot if we stopped the show."

The daylong concert is one of Boston's largest celebrations of Earth Day, a national environmental awareness event that was started in 1970 to protest a lack of government action to clean up and protect the environment.

Along with free food and refreshments, the event featured the music of Los Lonely Boys, the Bodeans, Edie Brickell, and Peter Wolf, as well as activities benefiting the environment, organizers said.

Officials from Whole Foods, one the concert's sponsors, hosted a recycling drive, asking people to donate old cell phones to be either refurbished or recycled. An "Action Tent" was set up for residents to send letters, e-mails, or postcards to their congressmen. There were also six emergency medical technicians on hand.

Also yesterday, more than 1,500 volunteers from 20 communities -- including Governor Mitt Romney -- picked up trash along the Esplanade and on the river banks as part of the Fourth Annual Earth Day Charles River Clean-up, organizers said.