Although two deaths were linked to the single-night Electric Daisy event in Dallas on June 18, serious incidents for the June 24-26 rave in Las Vegas were limited to a few arrests for drug and burglary offenses. Of the attendees requiring on-site medical attention, only a few required hospital transport from the ambulances standing by.
The biggest of Insomniac’s Electric Daisy events moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas this year after a 15-year-old girl died from a drug overdose at last year’s event. In Las Vegas, along with beefed up security, festival organizer Insomniac also raised the minimum age of attendees from 16 to 18.
At the one-night event in Dallas, about 30 attendees needed medical attention for heat, alcohol and drug-related issues, and a 19-year-old attendee died. Police have since linked a second death to the event after a 22-year-old man returning from the event died in an apparently drug-related incident.
The head of Insomniac, Pasquale Rotella, issued condolences. “To go from a moment of happiness and enjoyment, to the loss of life, is very heartbreaking,” he noted.
In Las Vegas, precautions to enforce Insomniac’s “zero tolerance” policy for drug abuse included close to 160 Las Vegas police officers and close to 1,000 hired security guards. Everyone entering the speedway for the event was screened, with searches included pat-downs and requirements to empty purses and pockets for inspection. Anyone leaving was not allowed to be re-admitted.
Along with the Dallas and Las Vegas events, Electric Daisy Carnival events took place in Orlando and Denver, and a fifth event is planned for Puerto Rico in August.
