AUSTIN, Texas — A crowded SEC celebration and concert on the University of Texas campus this weekend turned dangerous, leading Austin-Travis County EMS to respond and transport four people to the hospital between the hours of 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. All had non-life-threatening injuries.
"Three of those patients were crowd surge-related. Another was a medical issue," Capt. Darren Noak with ATCEMS said.
"It's almost impossible to make it through this crowd," a first responder said on scene. "We're trying to make contact."
From 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., the university hosted an event commemorating its new membership with the SEC that included a ceremony, fireworks show and a chance to see rapper and singer Pitbull perform live during a free concert on the Tower Stage.
The Austin Police Department confirmed there was an "unruly crowd" present on campus. Witness Robert Smith was watching the concert while his father bartended and called it much more than "unruly."
"It just slowly progressed and got hotter. And people were drinking, and then it got more and more violent as the night went on," Smith said. "For example, one of our bar girls that was working, a dude grabbed her by the head and smashed her face into her knee, punched her in the knee. I had to carry her with an arm around her neck, put ice on her head and keep her conscious."
Smith and his father said the situation went beyond the scope of their jobs.
"I was going around trying to help girls breathe and calm down because there were girls in middle school that thought they were going to die," Smith said.
For large public gatherings, Noak offers some general safety tips.
"Having an access and egress more ways out, knowing where the exits are, don't position yourself between the crowd and the barrier, especially if you have medical issues or you're more susceptible to the heat," Noak said.
Smith himself is asking for more safety measures, fearing a good time could lead to something much worse.
"They needed to have security better, more strict," Smith said. "People were in fear for their life, like genuine fear."
As of early Monday morning, crews were cleaning up campus following the incident.