The third and final day of the Electric Zoo Festival has been cancelled, according to an announcement from the New York City Mayor’s office. Two apparent deaths and several suspected drug overdoses at the Randall’s Island electronic music fest caused the stoppage, in an effort not to have a repeat of the hundred-plus overdoses at the Paradiso festival in Washington in July.
From the city’s official statement:
“During the first two days of the Electric Zoo music festival, two concert-goers have died and at least four others became critically ill and have been placed in intensive care at area hospitals. Definitive causes of death have not yet been determined, however, both appear to have involved the drug MDMA (ecstasy, or molly).”
The two fatalities are suspected to have been caused from apparent overdoses of MDMA, nicknamed “molly”. Jeffrey Russ, 23, of Rochester, was rushed to Harlem Hospital at 3:10 a.m. Saturday and died at the hospital. Olivia Rotundo, 20, of Providence, R.I., was taken to Metropolitan Hospital at 8:45 p.m. Saturday and died about 50 minutes later, according to police.
Festival leaders also posted a statement on their website: “The founders of Electric Zoo send our deepest condolences to the families of the two people who passed away this weekend. Because there is nothing more important to us than our patrons, we have decided in consultation with the New York City Parks Department that there will be no show today.”
The festival takes place annually over Labor Day Weekend on Randall’s Island. This year’s lineup included David Guetta, Avicii, and Benny Benassi.
