A Spanish concert promoter was sentenced to four years in prison due to his role in a deadly stampede at a 2012 Steve Aoki concert. Miguel Ángel Flores received the maximum penalty for five counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and 29 counts of injury by gross negligence after five people lost their lives at a Halloween show that his company put on.
According to El Mundo, Flores oversold the Madrid Arena by more than 6,000 tickets and the event didn’t have proper safety measures in place — such as fire exits and space between the entrance doors and the crowd. 18-year-old Rocío Oña, Cristina Arce, and Katia Esteban, 17-year-old Belén Langdon and 20-year-old Maria Teresa Alonso were killed when a flare gun went off in the crowd, causing the attendees to rush.
Flores maintained throughout the case that he was attempting to make as much money as possible while still throwing a safe show. However, the Provincial Court of Madrid disagreed and found him guilty of manslaughter along with 7 others defendants. An additional 7 defendants were absolved of any guilt.
Flores’ conviction forbids him from working in event promotion, however, El Mundo reports that he plans to open a nightclub in October called The Station, which has facilities that rival those of clubs in Ibiza. While Flores doesn’t own the project, the paper’s sources say he is the force behind the opening of the new club and is largely responsible for its planning. It’s unclear how involved he will be from prison, or if the club will succeed in light of his previous carelessness.
