Glen Helen's Nocturnal Wonderland: 2 dead, 11 hospitalized; arrests made
Two people died, several were hospitalized and arrests were made during the Nocturnal Wonderland music, dance and art festival at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino.
Over 70,000 visitors attended the four-day event that began on Sept. 16 at the venue south of the Victor Valley and along Interstate 15.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which was contracted by Live Nation to provide services at the event, reported that onsite medical services transported 11 people to local hospitals.
Deaths
Two of those individuals were later pronounced deceased for unknown reasons, said sheriff’s officials who are conducting investigations into the deaths.
No additional details were available, and the SBC Sheriff-Coroner’s Division has not identified the deceased.
Eli Gillespie-Rodriguez, 27, of Montebello, attended the music festival when at some point he died, his family said.
The circumstances leading up to Rodriguez’s death are still unclear, but Marcellina Rodriguez told FOX11 that her son went with friends to the festival, where he either bought drugs or was given drugs.
Monica Rodriguez Espinoza, who created a GoFundMe page for her deceased nephew, said Rodriguez died on Sept. 17 and may have taken a drug laced with fentanyl.
Marcellina Rodriguez believes the drug dealers, manufacturers and suppliers should all be held accountable for her son’s death.
“We know Eli had a great love for life and his family,” Espinoza said. “He would never have purposely done anything to lose any of that.”
Marcellina Rodriguez described her son as a loving man who was a "protector" of the people that he cared for.
Arrests of festivalgoers
During the weekend, sheriff’s deputies at Nocturnal Wonderland arrested an unknown number of festival attendees on suspicion of rape, spousal abuse, domestic battery, being drunk in public and petty theft.
The Department of Alcohol Beverage Control participated on Saturday by conducting enforcement related to minors consuming and/or in possession of alcohol and using a fake ID to obtain alcohol.
A total of eight citations were issued by ABC for minors in possession of alcohol. One person was issued a citation for possession of a controlled substance, sheriff’s officials said.
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About the Electronic Dance Music Taskforce
In Sept. 2016, the SBC Board of Supervisors approved the formation of an Electronic Dance Music Taskforce to develop recommendations for enforceable health and safety measures required for events and all other concerts held on county property.
The Nocturnal Festival follows all recommendations and guidelines set forth by the task force.
Additionally, the task force was to seek input from the community and to consider changes to future EDM events and all other concerts to address community concerns.
The EDM Taskforce includes representatives from the following organizations:
- County Administrative Office
- Office of County Counsel
- Department of Public Health
- Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
- San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
- San Bernardino County Fire Protection District
- Regional Parks Department
- Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency
Nocturnal Wonderland
Since 1995, Nocturnal Wonderland has evolved into a multi-day music camping event that features four stages with a variety of music genres and various attractions, along with interactive art installations, neon-clad performers and camping activities.
Event organizers have billed Nocturnal Wonderland as North America’s longest-running dance music festival, which also includes carnival rides and fireworks.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents that occurred at Nocturnal Wonderland is asked by the Sheriff’s Department to contact the EDM Taskforce at the Central Station at 909-387-3545.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact the We-Tip Hotline at 800-78-CRIME (27463) or visit wetip.com
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.