ATLANTA — A MARTA official gave an update on the investigation into the escalator stampede that injured 11 people after Beyonce’s concert on Monday.
Acting CEO and Chief Customer Experience Officer Rhonda Allen said the people got hurt because of an overcrowding issue, not a escalator malfunction. She said MARTA’s maintenance team does monthly inspections and the escalator at Vine City station had been inspected the escalator days earlier.
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“We’re happy to report that that escalator ... maintenance had been performed on it as early as July 10th,” Allen told the board. “Everything had been done properly there and signed off on. And so, there was, you know, nothing wrong with the escalator.”
Allen said MARTA had additional staff at the Vine City station during the Beyonce concerts. The employees were metering the customers into the station, which MARTA says it typically does for the larger events.
A woman who was outside the station screamed after she was startled by a bug. Allen said people who were around the woman was aware of what happened, but the crowds inside the station panicked.
Allen said the escalator was “overloaded beyond its designed capacity” and sped up for a few seconds before it stopped as it’s “supposed to do in emergencies.”
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Eleven people reported injuries.
“Understanding that there were individuals who were who were injured, I want to say that we, you know as an agency, are sorry that that happened to them and really wish them a speedy recovery on those injuries,” Allen said.
Allen acknowledged that MARTA didn’t have the level of staffing it needed with only 200 additional staff working that night. She said they will take a “more aggressive approach” in the future and look at how they queue crowds at the smaller stations.
In total, Allen said that MARTA had about 130,000 trips taken over the four nights of Beyonce’s concerts.
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