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Second Overdose Death At Mad Decent Block Party

During an outdoor music festival organized by record label Mad Decent in Columbia, Maryland on Friday, two fans died of apparent drug overdoses, and an additional 19 were transported to an area hospit...
Second Overdose Death At Mad Decent Block Party
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  • During an outdoor music festival organized by record label Mad Decent in Columbia, Maryland on Friday, two fans died of apparent drug overdoses, and an additional 19 were transported to an area hospital.

    An unnamed 17-year-old male from Virginia, who was hospitalized since Friday and in critical condition, died Monday. This comes after 20-year-old Tyler Fox Viscardi, of Raleigh, North Carolina, died after being rushed to the hospital at 9 p.m. EDT after overdosing at the all-day Mad Decent Block Party, the Howard County Police Department said in a statement.

    Authorities believe that MDMA, also called “molly” and ecstasy, was prevalent at the event, and Viscardi’s family has suggested in a statement that Tyler was unknowingly slipped the drug – “We are devastated by the sudden loss of our beloved Tyler. He was the victim of a terrible mishap. Details are not clear yet, but we know this much. He was attending a music festival in Maryland with some friends. According to his close college friend who was with him, the afternoon was hot and he drank water that was given to him by others who were in the area. We believe that this contained a substance, unbeknownst to him, to which he had a toxic reaction. He was taken to a nearby hospital, but the reaction proved fatal. This tragic accident has taken Tyler from us. He will always be in our hearts.”

    The concert took place at the Merriweather Post Pavillion, roughly 20 miles southwest of Baltimore, and featured pop and dance artists including Cashmere Cat, Flux Pavilion, Diplo, Sleigh Bells, Wave Racer and Wolfgang Gartner.

    Here is the Mad Decent Block Party 2014 Trailer:

    Operators of the Merriweather Post Pavillion said in a statement, “Our hearts go out to the family as they face the unimaginable… We can spend every minute of the day making sense to our children regarding the perils of drugs, but sometimes it’s impossible to convince them that this is relevant to their world.”

    In all, 20 concertgoers were hospitalized, roughly 60 fake IDs were confiscated and 50 underage drinking citations were handed out by police.

    Mad Decent adjusted their initial statement on the incident – “We were shocked and saddened when we heard the news from Friday’s event at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by this.”

    Image via YouTube

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