A 15-year-old girl who attended an Exposition Park mega-rave died of a suspected drug overdose Tuesday, on a day when headlines were dedicated to mayoral and police concerns about the more than 200 medical emergencies and reported 65 arrests related to two-day event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The death was reported at 4:55 p.m. at California Hospital Medical Center and hospital officials contacted the county coroner's office about an hour later, said corner's Lt. Larry Dietz.
Fox 11 News reported that the girl's family today decided to remove her from life support, apparently after she hadn't shown signs of life for some time. The family told CBS2 News that her organs would be donated.
The website for the 14th annual Electric Daisy Carnival stated entrants had to be 16 and up, although many such events are listed as "all ages." California law is a little vague in that area, establishing a nighttime curfew for those under 18 but allowing many exceptions, including arts and school events.
The Coliseum's commission was called to to a special meeting to review whether promoters of such events have undertaken proper heath and safety precautions.
"On behalf of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, I express our dismay and deep sadness on the death of the young woman who attended the Electric Daisy Carnival,'' Barry A. Sanders, president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission said. "We send our sincere condolences to her family."
Although drugs were suspected in the girl's death, the exact cause of death won't be known until coroner's investigators complete an autopsy.
"It will be a couple of days before the doctors get the case,'' Dietz said. "The big question is what kind of drugs are involved because drugs are pretty much free flowing at a rave party.''
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa this week questioned whether such public venues were the right places for kids to party.
"We're going to have to assess whether or not these events will occur in the future,'' he said.
The event, featuring Will.i.am, Moby and Deadmau5, claimed to have drawn 185,000 people over Friday and Saturday.
