CINCINNATI — It’s been 44 years since 11 people were killed outside The Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979. On Sunday, friends, family members and survivors visited the site of the tragedy to honor the victims.
“I was 11 years old,” said David Eavey, a survivor. “I got up, I told my mother I was going to see The Who.”
Eavey was outside the venue when people started rushing the doors, after hearing what they thought was a soundcheck. He was hurt, but survived.
“If it hadn’t been for these two girls, Rose and Mercedes, put a shoulder around me, kept people off me, I’d have been number 12,” he said.
Each year, he comes back to the site of the tragedy to pay respects to those who weren’t as lucky.
“It haunts me 24/7,” he said.
Craig Ransom didn’t learn what happened until after he was on his way home from the show.
“I saw this one guy in the restroom, he came up to me and said, ‘Did you hear about people dying?’” Ransom said. “I says, ‘What are you talking about?’ And then he just walked away.”
Ransom returned Sunday with other survivors and loved ones of victims.
“I really didn't see it or anything,” he said. “It's just in my memory, and just something I think about every year.”
Kasey Ladd ran the memorial service. He was two years old when his mother, Teva Rae Ladd, was killed attending the show.
“Both my parents left and only one came back,” he said.
Ladd has helped lead the event on the anniversary the last 14 years.
“A lot of people say that she would be proud of me, and I'm sure she would, but it's bigger than me,” Ladd said. “There's been a lot of people behind us throughout the years that kept this thing going.”
The Who performed its first show in Cincinnati since the tragedy last year. Proceeds from the concert went toward scholarships named in honor of victims.
“It's about remembering the love and young souls we lost,” Ladd said.
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