A tragic incident at ICON nightclub in Boston resulted in the suspension of the venue's entertainment license after a woman collapsed on the dance floor and later died. The woman, identified as Anastacia Morales, was attending the club with her sister and friends to celebrate a birthday when the collapse occurred, as reported by CBS Boston.
Boston 25 News reported that her sister Angelica Morales, desperately attempted to get help for Anastacia, shouting to security and trying to stop the music. "Even security, I begged them, I was screaming on the top of my lungs, pick my sister up like bring her outside where she has oxygen, there’s no oxygen in here it’s low oxygen everyone’s smoking," Morales said. Amidst the chaos, her efforts were lost on the dense crowd and loud music, with Morales describing the scene as indifferent to her sister's plight.
Boston police arrived at the nightclub around 12:30 a.m. Sunday and began administering CPR to Morales, who was completely unresponsive. Details from the police report, obtained by CBS Boston, indicated that Morales had smoked prior to entering the club and had consumed a few drinks. She was transported to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, purportedly from cardiac arrest. Morales had an underlying heart condition and is survived by two children, including a six-month-old baby.
During the emergency, the venue's management and an off-duty EMT provided first aid, but the situation was complicated by patrons who were filming the scene and not providing space for the emergency staff. "The whole thing is negligence; they literally didn’t care for my sister, they played with my sister," Angelica Morales told Boston 25 News, questioning the nightclub's response to the emergency.
In light of the incident, the city of Boston has taken immediate action. "Following the incident early Sunday morning, the Entertainment Division of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing has suspended ICON Nightclub’s entertainment license, effective immediately," stated the agency, as noted by Boston 25 News. A hearing is expected to take place in the coming weeks to determine the future of ICON's liquor license. ICON management offered condolences and affirmed their cooperation with the ongoing investigations in a statement saying, "We are deeply saddened by the medical emergency that occurred at our club early Sunday morning," and "Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and loved ones." Further developments will be reported as information becomes available.
