Netflix's Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 has been hailed as Fyre Festival 2.0 - but more sinister. And the documentary has viewers wondering how many people died at Woodstock 99.
When most people hear the term 'Woodstock' they envision the peace and love spirit that defined the original 1969 festival. But those who know how many Woodstocks there were will know this didn't turn out to be the case for Woodstock's third and final outing - Woodstock 99 - taking place during a now infamous July weekend at a former air force base in Rome, New York.
Widespread carnage ensued, resulting in human casualty and multiple lawsuits filed in the aftermath, all of which was detailed in Netflix's documentary Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 released in August 2022. It was a similarly huge hit as fellow Netflix docu-series The Most Hated Man on the Internet, which told the story of revenge porn criminal Hunter Moore and Charlotte Laws, the woman who helped bring him down. Here, we delve into the details of Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 and reveal the fatalities and injuries that took place.
How many people died at Woodstock '99?
Three people died whilst attending the Woodstock 99 festival. The three deaths included 24-year-old David DeRosia, 28-year-old Tara Weaver and another 44-year-old man. Derosia collapsed in a mosh pit, Weaver was hit by a car whilst leaving the concert, and the man in his forties suffered a cardiac arrest at the camping site.
Woodstock 99's youngest victim, David DeRosia, had been watching the Metallica set in the mosh pit when he collapsed. His cause of death was ruled as hyperthermia linked to heat stroke, with other possible causes of an enlarged heart and obesity.
With that said, Syracuse reported that Onondaga County medical examiner Jacqueline Marin - who carried out the autopsy - told police that DeRosia's weight likely had little to do with his death.
Indeed, heat proved to be a big problem at Woodstock 99, with temperatures during the July 1999 concert reaching 100°F (38°C). Add to this an extra 5-10 degrees concertgoers experienced who were deep in the crowd or mosh pits.
Esquire reports that access to water was another concern, with 25-minute queues forming around water fountains. The price for bottled water also rose as demand increased - with a $4 bottle rising to $12 by the end of the weekend.
How many people were injured or taken unwell at Woodstock 99?
Pitchfork reports that there were 1,200 admission to the onsite medical facilities during Woodstock 99. The night of Saturday 24 July 1999 saw 125 patients treated per hour at the two medical tents near the main stage.
The New York Post suggests that many admissions were seeking treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration due to the heatwave and lack of water.
In 2001, David DeRosia's mother - Lorelei Johnson - filed a lawsuit against Woodstock 99 promoters and six doctors at the event, accusing those involved of negligence. According to Syracuse, her lawyer, Joseph Cote, said that organisers did not provide enough water and had inadequate medical supplies for the 400,000 fans who attended.
He also claimed that the medical tents were not well equipped to treat heat stroke patients. In a deposition, a nurse by the name of Kinsinger - who worked at Woodstock 99 - said "I did not take a single temperature the three days I was at Woodstock."
Woodstock event promoter Michael Lang has always refuted these negligence claims saying that organisers had provided plenty of water and Gatorade to medical tents. He also claims they opened additional cool-down facilities in response to the climbing temperatures.
Trench mouth
Trench mouth - a condition that causes gum bleeding, swelling, pain and ulsers - was a widespread issue at Woodstock '99. Caused by a buildup of bacteria in the mouth, many festival-goers experienced it as a result of the sewage on site leaking into drinking and shower water.
Esquire recounted one woman's experience of the condition while at Woodstock. She said she woke up on the last day to "a very sore throat, cold sores all over my lips, ulcers all over my tongue and my gums and in my mouth.”
According to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, the term 'trench mouth' dates back to World War I, with soldiers in the trenches suffering the same symptoms due to poor sanitation.
Sexual assault
Horrifying accounts of sexual assault came out of Woodstock 99. According to an issue of Billboard magazine- printed August 21, 1999 - "five rapes and numerous accounts of sexual harassment and assault" were reported to authorities shortly after.
Meanwhile, a report in The Washington Post quoted David Schneider, a rehabilitation counsellor who attended the festival as a volunteer, who recounted seeing women who were crowd surfing being pulled into mosh pits, stripped of their clothes and assaulted. He added that due to overcrowding security guards were unable to intervene in such assaults.
His account was supported by Sandy Lattimore, emergency services director of the Rome office of the American Red Cross, who said that she had treated victims of sexual assaults that had taken place in the mosh pit. "These things have left scars on these girls," she said. "I don't know why it had to happen. I don't know where we went wrong."
Police investigator David Krause said one assault allegedly took place in front of the East Stage during Limp Bizkit's set. A 24-year-old woman from Pittsburgh told police that two men assaulted her with their fingers and "some type of foreign object" before one of them raped her.
Woodstock's event promoter Michael Lang and his fellow organiser John Scher maintained that organisers did their best to uphold public safety.
Was anyone arrested after Woodstock 99?
According to The Washington Post state police said 44 arrests were made during the three-day festival weekend.
In the weeks after the festival, an MTV report read, "New York State Police have arrested 39 people for alleged crimes committed at Woodstock '99, and are investigating 96 other reported crimes, including eight sex offences."
Police Captain John Wood, who was in charge of the investigation of Woodstock crimes, said at the time he had doubled the number of troopers investigating Woodstock crimes from five to 10 after receiving 155 e-mails and several phone calls offering information and tips.
In a statement, Woodstock promoters John Scher, Michael Lang and Ossie Kilkenny said, "We're shocked and dismayed by the allegations of sexual abuse, and we're doing everything we can do to help the investigation, including handing over all the video tape and any records that we have. If the alleged perpetrators are caught, we hope that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
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