Editor: I have been told that in the years since the rave described below another 24 individuals have lost their lives and these deaths continue to be covered up. I have not been able to confirm much of anything except that the tribe is apparently terrified of this blog and of having the Federal Bureau of Investigation becoming involved again. Anyway, here is a story written by George Watson when he was a reporter with the Press Enterprise. He actually camped out up there and witnessed the rave first hand.
3 dead after rave in Mojave Desert
LAKE HAVASU: One overdose, two wrecks and a turnout of more than 20,000 confirm authorities’ greatest fears.
BY GEORGE WATSON
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
LAKE HAVASU
They had come to the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation for a memorable dance in an ancient territory. But when tens of thousands of people left the 14-hour overnight rave Sunday, the most lasting memory was of the casualties left behind.
One person died from what was believed to be an overdose during the rave billed as “Nocturnal Wonderland” in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
Two other victims, neither from the rave, were killed in separate accidents involving people who authorities said had been at the rave that began the night before.
Those two deaths confirmed the greatest fears of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department: That the venue — a dance party held on a mile-long landing strip — could not support the turnout of more than 20,000 and innocent people would get killed.
“What you have here is a venue site that is away from town but brings huge numbers of people through town, which is a public safety issue,” said sheriff’s Capt. Greg Bottrell hours before the two fatal accidents. “And then you have rampant drug use by a lot of people.”
Even before the rave was planned, authorities took added precautions because Lake Havasu’s holiday weekends are notorious for drunken debaucheries. But people said the scene involving miles of cars loaded with teens and young adults decked out in bizarre attire was beyond compare.
“It gets to be a pretty big party, but nothing like this,” said Robin Wood, 40, who crossed the lake from her home in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., to check out the scene. “This is so wild. You’ve got people down there parked at the marina to watch the cars go in.”
In addition to the deaths, dozens needed medical treatment, and at least 80 people were arrested, most related to selling or possessing Ecstasy tablets that look like vitamin tablets but produce euphoric sensations. The event also heightened tense relations between the Chemehuevi and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The fatal crashes
When drivers leaving the rave collided with the outside world, they left two people dead.
A good Samaritan was killed when a driver in a drug-induced stupor plowed into the man as he prepared to help a stranded motorist.
A wife died in front of her husband when another driver lost control of his sports utility vehicle and flipped onto the top of the couple’s car.
And exhausted CHP officers who thought they’d done their best to keep problems from happening were left feeling frustrated at the aftermath of the first major rave party held at Lake Havasu.
It’s “complete insanity,” CHP Sgt. William Condray said. “This is hopefully the first and the last.”
Especially hard, Condray said, was that those killed were innocent bystanders. The deaths and injuries left even normally stoic officers emotional, he said.
In the 3:02 p.m. accident just south of Needles, the driver of an Isuzu Trooper was returning home from the rave when he swerved into the dirt shoulder, rolled his vehicle, then landed on the roof of a Crown Victoria traveling in the opposite direction on the highway, Condray said.
A woman seated in the front passenger’s seat was crushed by the weight of the Trooper. She died instantly, Condray said.
The woman’s husband “sat by his wife and just cried,” Condray said. “This man was just bawling his eyes out.”
The accident affected officers sent out to investigate as well.
“Everyone was solemn,” Condray said.
Tragedy had struck earlier, about 11:20 a.m. on Havasu Lake Road, four miles east of Highway 95.
A motorist had broken down. Another driver stopped to help. He and a friend had gotten out of his vehicle. A driver coming back from the rave careened into him and his friend. The good Samaritan was killed. His friend was hurt.
“It was just tragic that it was a good Samaritan taken,” Condray said.
The driver tested positive for illegal drugs and was arrested and booked into Needles jail. The man told officers he had taken the stimulant Ecstasy, Condray said.
Condray said officers tried to keep the roads as safe as they could. He said checkpoints were set up on all major arteries into the party.
“Everyone that went to that rave saw law enforcement,” he said.
Who pays for security
Sheriff’s officials pleaded with tribal leaders not to allow the concert.
They said the event, organized after Golden Voice Productions approached the tribe last month, would endanger the public during a high-activity period. Tribal members refused to cancel, instead offering to hire 10 to 20 deputies for $20,000 to police the area. Sheriff’s officials said at least 70 officers were needed, costing more than $100,000, which tribal leaders countered would eat all of their profits.
Instead, security was left in the hands of several hundred event staff members hired by the promoter. That led the Sheriff’s Department to turn the local senior center into its command post for more than 70 uniformed and undercover officers from departments as far away as Los Angeles.
Bottrell said the security issue centered around money: Thousands of tickets were being sold at $30 to $40 a piece, most of which was taken in by the promoter. That left security to be paid for at the taxpayers’ expense, he said.
The promoter’s staff left before a cleanup crew completed its weighty task and used a private ambulance to lead them out with flashing emergency lights around five miles of traffic leaving the reservation.
Sheriff’s deputies caught up with the ambulance and ordered them back into line, he said.
Why the tribe wanted the rave
Tribal Chairman Edward D. “Tito” Smith said the Chemehuevi (pronounced chema-wavey) run a casino, campground, mobile home park and leased lots.
He said the tribe has 700 members, about 150 of whom live on the reservation’s 30,000 acres, and he characterized them as poor.
None of the tribe’s operations generate significant cash, he said. A portion of the profits from the concert will help pay for the reservation’s new day care center.
“This is a concert. It’s the media and the Sheriff’s Department that called it a rave,” Smith said. “When you do that, you are going to draw the whole rave crowd, the crazies out.”
Smith said a promoter’s representative told him that 22,000 people attended, but sheriff’s officials estimated as many as 30,000 were on hand.
Holding the concert on a holiday weekend might not have been the finest idea, Smith said, not ruling out future events.
“We’ll have to weigh it out next time,” Smith said Sunday after learning of the first fatal accident. “I think there are things we’d do differently.”
Party for grown-ups
The gated party compound was a carnival for grown-up children wearing lavish costumes or nearly no clothes at all.
Vendors hawking tacos, sports drinks or flashing beads were sandwiched between several stages, each providing a different blend of music made by a disc jockey. Some tunes were hard and fast, as many as 180 beats per minute. Others were slow, melodic, rhythmic. Bodies flowed in staggered movements out front.
Also sitting there were the “E-puddles,” the term ravers call people on Ecstasy who hunker down in the middle of a dance floor and stare at nothing in particular. Those who walked back and forth, chewing on pacifiers or waving light sticks, found the E-puddles particularly annoying because of the human traffic jams they caused.
Concertgoers insisted that most people came to enjoy the music and that only a few were using drugs, but none among the dozens interviewed would give their names.
“A lot of people are just here to dance,” said a 24-year-old woman who would only identify herself as Lana from San Francisco.
The people using Ecstasy were a problem, she said: “I wish they wouldn’t come to these things because they give raves a bad name.”
Milo, a 23-year-old from Hollywood who declined to give his last name, was troubled that authorities made such a big deal about the rave when just down the road, thousands were spending the weekend drinking and boating.
“So it’s not OK to have a couple of (messed) . . . up people out of 30,000,” said Milo, who has documented raves for two years. “It’s so hypocritical.”
But sheriff’s deputies were indeed policing the boaters. On Saturday, 26 boaters were arrested for operating while under the influence. One person broke a leg while kneeboarding. Another boating accident caused no injuries.
Staff writer Jacquie Paul contributed to this report.
Published 9/3/2001
My name is ZuRc12 and I would like to share a story with you…
I remember this day as if it was yesterday. I never wanted to go to the party. I felt as if my rave days were over but my best friend Edgar never been to a desert event. My sister surprises me and my cousin with tickets, and I didn’t even bother to find a ride to the event. The bad feeling started a week prior. The day prior to the rave my friend Edgar showed up at my house to pick me and my cousin up for this event in his navigator with the girls. It was hard to say no. So our journey began. We drove throughout the night. On the way we had gotten a flat tire. The jack we had was too small and was unable to lift the truck, and then out of nowhere these people stop to help us. After the tire was change all six of us decided we had to return the favor; we believed in good karma. We arrived the morning of the rave at Lake Havasu near the town of Needles. We didn’t let the day go to waste and we enjoyed the lake. Night came fast and we made our way to the event. By this time I had horrible stomach cramps, which was very unusual because I am usually the life of the party. For some reason I was just not getting in the mood. I even tried some party favors but they had no affect on me. My pain grew stronger and decided to go to the car to sleep. My cousin joined me because he didn’t want me to go alone, and Keli (beautiful girl) was upset. I know she wanted to hook up. I slept in the car throughout the night. Then morning came. The group all made it back to the truck. We started to make our way back home. I told Edgar that I’ll drive because I had plenty of rest; he said no, it’s okay he was fine. It was so crowded. We waited for a hour just to get out the parking lot. Then another hour just to make it to the check point (by police). So many cars were overheating because it was so hot and people were running their AC, and others where running out of gas because the wait. We finally made it to the hwy seeing people with signs asking for help. Well we saw the opportunity to return that favor we promised ourselves. We stop by a car who was asking for a jump (Brian’s car). I was going to get off, but Edgar said just wait here he’ll see what the problem was first. I heard his door close, and I put my head back to rest. BAM… the SUV was plowed from behind. All I heard was a woman screaming. I look back and saw blood on the back window. I immediately hopped off and saw Brian in shock, a girl bloody body mangled and another girl suffering from unknown injuries. I began to look for Edgar. He was nowhere to be found. by this time everyone was out the vehicle. I started calling for Edgar. I was living in this surreal moment, confuse where he was at on this small two way lane. I looked under the SUV; he wasn’t there. I looked down the road and saw a sports car about 150 meters down the road with a giant hole in the windshield. I glance over to the right and saw Edgar’s lifeless body lying on the ground… I turned around and told my cousin don’t let the girls turn this way… I began to run towards Edgar’s body. As I was running I hear Jenny start to cry out NOOOOO! I felt my eyes tearing up, a lump of dry pain in my throat. I got to his body and seen his head was smashed in, deformed from the brutal impact. I fell to my knees and began to cry, I was in shock. Another guy ran up behind me and began CPR, but I knew it was too late. Edgar Diaz lied there, 50ft from our car, no shoes, no pants… He was hit so hard he literally was knocking out his shoes and pants. I made my way back to the girls and my cousin. They asked me if he was okay, I said he was dead. They screamed and stared at me with disbelief. I began to cry. We all just kind of fell (sat down) everyone was morning what just happened. So many mixed emotions, people crying, the blood, people asking questions, and then the needles police showed up. The paramedics attended to the bloody girl who was still fighting for her life (Brian’s girlfriend) she was air lifted out of there. The other girl was pronounced dead there on the spot and Edgar too. They began to check us to make sure we were okay. After checking us the police asked who vehicle was the SUV. I said Edgars. The police said they were going to tow it. I immediately started taking pictures for insurance purposes, and the police said if I took one more picture they would arrest me for interfering with the investigation. 2 hours had already elapsed. We were all sunburned from the blistering sun. After they took our statements and cleared the vehicles, all the emergency vehicles began to leave. I jumped up and stopped one of the last police cars and asked how are we getting back? He replied with a question, “I don’t know, you don’t have a ride?” I asked him to drop us off the nearest pay phone. He paused, and then said okay. Before we left Brian said thank you and asked who was Edgars favorite DJ were, I told him but I didn’t know at the time why he wanted to know. He dropped us down the road at some dinner. We told the owner what just happened and the owner was very understanding that they allowed us to use their phone for free, to include food. The most haunting conversation I had is when I called Edgar mom (which I only met a few times) and had to tell her that her son was dead. It was a conversation I don’t wish to talk about. My next call was to another good friend Ceaser, and Edgar’s brother (also just as hard) they said they would come get us. So we waited till night time (felt like eternity) they picked us up… I felt dirty, sun burned, empty, and confused, with so many questions… what happens next. On the way we saw a aftermath of another accident. A truck had flipped over with people in the back of the bed. I was in so much disbelief that this could happen. I had been partying since 1990 and never heard or seen such a tragedy. I went into a deep depression and didn’t talk to anyone but my cousin. I fell heavy into drugs; about a month later Brian’s calls me to ask if the police called me yet? I said no. He told me that the police threaten to arrest him if he made a statement about the illegal checkpoint they had set up. I don’t know how true this was, Brian sounded hysterical. They were holding him somewhat responsible because he was one of the main people who help throw the party… Almost a year went by… I spent in isolation, drugs, and alcohol. I felt it was time to move forward. So I cleaned up and stop ignoring the random phone calls. The phone calls were lawyers, wanted to know if we suffered in any way. I said no. little did I know, this was all they needed to close the case. I got word from a friend of a friend that there was going to be a trial. I asked my girlfriend (who later became my wife) to take me to needles that day because the case was the next day. She took me and my cousin back to needles. I talked to the lawyer and Edgar’s family, the lawyer said I would get a chance to speak to the court and tell them what I had seen. That chance never came. The driver got off with 2 years probation. No jail time for 3 deaths. The Judge said enough lives were lost in this accident and closed the case…. the reason I am telling this story here, now… is because I just saw a video on youtube about nocturnal wonderland, so I googled the event to see if anything was out there about this case. This site is what I had found. So I wanted to share my story with you… Edgar was a good person with a good heart…. that didn’t deserve this… I don’t know who will read this or even if this will get posted, but someone should hear what had happened that day! Thank you for reading!
I remember the Rave, which occurred several years ago, and the incident described above (I was a Sgt. working out of Needles at the time). The comment, at the top of the page, about 24 deaths being covered up since then is RIDICULOUS! There have been boating related deaths, drownings, traffic related deaths and even a murder, at Havasu Landing since the Rave, but all have been investigated by the appropriate agencies.
So Redlands CM Nabar, is your renter/ promoter friend who brought the Redlands Pharaohs raves to town involved with the Nocturnal Wonderland(s), turned Nightmare(s)?
Saw advertisements for another Nocturnal Wonderland in this past month’s SB Sun newspapers, SOMEONE is making a KILLING FROM AND OF THESE KIDS and unsuspecting passers-by.
It’s really a shame when some of the public officials involved with these public policy decisions of health, safety and welfare of our COMMUNITIES, such as with these RAVE VENUES, are biased by their conflicted interests, thereby violating the same public trust in government that they have been elected (U 2 Jon and Pete) or employed to uphold.
If Redlands was really NIMBY about the RAVES then we wouldn’t be employing a City Manager that personally profits from them, especially when the SBSO and the RPD were providing security for Pharaoh’s just the same (at big overtime rates of course).
Do you think the CHP want this kind of work (clean-up the aftermath), instead? Problem is, none of you are thinking about WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE.