TORONTO (CelebrityAccess) — The band Radiohead returned to the stage in Toronto on Thursday for the first time since the tragic 2012 incident that resulted in the death of their drum technician, Scott Johnson.
While on stage, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke took a moment to condemn the lack of progress in the case, and lambaste “the people who should be held accountable” in Johnson’s death.
“The people who should be held accountable are still not being held accountable in your city,” Yorke told the audience. ”The silence is f—ing deafening.”
The band then led the audience in an (almost successful) moment of silence.
A video of the incident captured by a member of the audience, please note that there is some language that might not be appropriate for the workplace.
Johnson was killed on stage on July 16th, 2012 before an outdoor show at Toronto’s Downsview Park – at what was to be Radiohead’s last stop in a series of North American dates.
Shortly before the band took the stage, a windstorm struck, causing the roof of the temporary structure to collapse. Johnson was killed instantly when he was struck by a falling video monitor, and three other members of the crew were injured, according to a report by the Globe & Mail.
A year after Johnson’s death, Canadian authorities charged Live Nation Canada, Optex Staging & Services Inc, and Domenic Cugliari, the engineer who designed the stage with 13 charges under Ontario health and safety laws.
However, after numerous delays, charges were dropped against the defendants after a judge ruled that the case had not proceeded in a “reasonable timeframe.”
In a statement released via social media after the ruling, a rep for Radiohead said: “We are appalled by the decision to stay the charges against Live Nation, Optex Staging, and Dominic Cugliari. This is an insult to the memory of Scott Johnson, his parents, and our crew. It offers no consolation, closure or assurance that this kind of accident will not happen again.”
