A man died at a music festival in Colorado after suffering from a sudden medical emergency. According to The Mountain Mail, the victim was identified as 36-year-old Matthew Gawiak.
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Man Attending Music Festival Dies After Sudden Collapse
This Denver native collapsed on August 15 during the King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Field and Vision Festival. It took place at The Meadows in Buena Vista, and the death happened during the festival’s first night.
Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich confirmed they are investigating his sudden death. This includes an autopsy and toxicology report. Still, they are currently treating it as a homicide.
“I am not suggesting it is (a homicide), but we rule out everything in hopes of getting to natural causes,” said Rohrich.
Although Chaffee County EMS didn’t provide paramedics, the festival hired a third-party EMS service. They hired National Event Services, according to Josh Hadley, Chaffee County EMS Director.
Otherwise, around five to six deputies were on scene with Gawiak. Rohrich also confirmed that no arrests were made during the festival.
While Jeff Graf, Chaffee County Coroner, confirmed they were completing the autopsy, the toxicology report could take six to eight weeks for processing. This is due to the myriad of lab tests that they must complete.
Band Speaks Up After Fan’s Death At Music Festival
In response to Gawiak’s death, the Australian rock band heading the festival shared a statement with PEOPLE. “We are deeply saddened to share that on Friday night a member of our community passed away due to an unexpected medical event despite the best efforts from emergency teams,” it said.
“We send our love and condolences to their family, friends, and all who are impacted by this loss. In moments like these, we are reminded of the importance of showing up for one another and are profoundly grateful for the compassion and care shown by so many.”
Not only that, but during the three-day event’s last night, the band mentioned Gawiak’s death. They even performed two songs in his memory.
PEOPLE spoke with Gawiak’s wife, Allison Zangle, who spoke highly about her late husband. “My entire family and those who were with Matt when he passed away at the concert all got together to watch the live stream,” said Zangle.
She then confirmed she asked King Gizzard’s management team if they could pay tribute to Gawiak. “I was incredibly moved by the band’s tribute and it helped me to find some peace,” she continued.
Victim’s Brother Explains What Happened
Zangle also confirmed that Gawiak’s brother, Christopher, wrote a Reddit post detailing the events of that first night. Christopher mentioned how his die-hard Gizzard fan of a brother was “feeling dizzy” partway into a performance.
“As myself and our friends went to escort him out, he dropped to the floor, and was unresponsive,” he wrote. “Luckily, there were 2 trauma nurses in the crowd who responded quickly and started cpr while we fought off the overzealous and sent runners for paramedics to take him to the medical tent.”
The nurses attempted to stabilize Gawiak for nearly two hours. “They could only maintain any kind of pulse with massive doses of epinephrine,” he added. After running out of epinephrine, they called an ambulance. They nearly got him to a hospital, but before they made it, they pronounced him dead.
Christopher was “grateful” for all those who “fought like hell” for his brother. Not only for the medics, but those in the crowd who shone their phones to signal for help. They also managed to get the band to stop the show.