As more details come to light about the deadly Astroworld festival, one staff member is sharing his experience with the unsafe work environment that forced him to quit on the day of the event.
Darius Williams was hired a few days before Astroworld took place by Contemporary Services Corporation, the event staff and security company contracted to provide workers for the festival. He says that the job description was very vague, and CSC did not offer new employees any details regarding their roles. Williams explained to TMZ that his job orientation and training took place the night before the show, including his level II security licensing exam, which was open book.
Upon arriving for his first day of work at the festival grounds at around 7:00 a.m. Friday morning, Williams noticed that the event was “understaffed in every sense of the word.”
“There was probably one security guard for every 500 to 1,000 people,” he recounted, realizing that the employees were not equipped to handle a large crowd rushing the gates.
Williams expressed his concerns about working with the front gate to his supervisor, who then tried to re-assign him to a different security-related position. However, Williams did not feel safe with his new role and decided that it was best if he left for good.
“I just decided it would be best to just leave and to just not work the festival altogether because I just had a feeling that I would be in unsafe conditions,” Williams said.
This latest revelation comes as investigators piece together what led to the eight deaths that occurred when attendees began surging towards the stage, crushing people and trampling others. Travis Scott, Live Nation, and even Drake, who was a special guest, face mounting lawsuits from injured victims and the families of those who died.
