CLEVELAND — "I was down too early to even hear a song," says 17-year-old Cooper Downerd.
The teenager has a clear memory of what happened at the Astroworld concert in Houston, Texas, less than two weeks ago.
Cooper told 3News' Lydia Esparra that no one should have gone through such a life or death situation, especially at a concert.
"I was pushed to the ground and I fell on the ground and I couldn’t get back up,” he said. “Because when you were standing you can move like this you could move side to side if they were up, they were up.”
“Once I was down, one after another there would be layers of people who would follow me. Since I was on the bottom, no one could see me cause there was a good six to seven people on top of me," Cooper says.
The 17-year-old also says that, at one point, things got dark.
“I was screaming for help, then I couldn't scream anymore cause I couldn't breathe. I saw the kid next to me fall and pass away down there. I saw his eyes turn gray.”
Cooper says that he even lost hope of getting out.
“I gave up for a little bit cause I could see it happening and no one could see me. I was scratching people's ankles, trying to get their attention. All I could see was people's feet kicking me- stepping on me, kicking in my neck.”
Luckily, he was able to army crawl out and claw at someone until they noticed him.
"It was fight or flight. You couldn’t even think about it in the moment, this is terrible, you just had to think, I’ve got to get out of here."
The 17-year-old currently has a severe concussion and has begun to see a therapist. He also is using his voice to advocate for changes at these types of venues and events, saying that he never wants to see anyone else go through something similar.
“I’m glad I’m alive, but at the same time I'm like, great, now I have to think about this every second of the day.”
As of Tuesday, November 16, ten people have died as a result of the chaos at Astroworld.
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