Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Several families of the 10 people who died from injuries in a massive crowd surge at the Astroworld festival have turned down an offer by headliner Travis Scott to pay for their loved ones' funeral costs.
Attorneys for the families of four of the victims said Tuesday that they received a letter from Scott's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, in which the offer was made.
In a letter sent Nov. 24 to the attorneys for the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, Petrocelli said Scott extended his “deepest sympathies and condolences” to Ezra's father, Treston Blount, and Scott had wanted to reach out personally “but does not wish to intrude on Mr. Blount's privacy during his time of grieving.”
Ezra was the youngest person to die from injuries suffered during Scott's concert at the sold-out festival on Nov. 5 that was attended by 50,000 people. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27. Some 300 people were treated at the festival site and 13 were hospitalized.
“Travis is devastated by the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival and grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured. Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community,” Petrocelli wrote.
In his reply, Robert Hilliard, an attorney representing Treston Blount in a lawsuit against Scott, the concert promoter and others, declined the offer, saying that while he believes Scott feels remorse, Scott must see “that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy.”
“And perhaps one day, once time allows some healing for the victims and acceptance of responsibility by Mr. Scott and others, Treston and Mr. Scott might meet - as there is also healing in that,” Hilliard said. “For now, Mr. Scott must respect the fact that his pain and his devastation pale to Treston's, Ezra's mom, and the other victims.”
Petrocelli did not immediately return a call or email seeking comment Tuesday.
Michael Lyons, an attorney for the family of 27-year-old Mirza “Danish” Baig, said he viewed the offer to pay for funeral costs partly as a public relations ploy by Scott to “soften people up” in the court of public opinion. Baig's family declined the offer, he said.
“Sadly, for my clients, a check from Travis Scott ... is not going to relieve the pain and suffering that they presently are experiencing,” Lyons said. “I think it will only make it worse.”
Richard Mithoff, an attorney for the family of 14-year-old John Hilgert, also declined Scott's offer.
Valerie Cortinas Fisher, a lawyer for the family of 23-year-old Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena, said her clients are grieving and have yet to consider Scott's offer.
Pena's family, who is from Laredo, Texas, traveled to Houston on Monday to visit a memorial site near where the concert was held.
Maria de los Angeles Pena, Rodolfo Pena's mother, remembered her son a joyful person who loved life and was a good student.
“I want to say to the world, take care of your children, pray for them, watch where they go, and Travis Scott, God bless him. How there is earthly law, there is also divine law,” she said.
Tony Buzbee, who is representing the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta Avila, said in an email Tuesday he had received a voicemail from a lawyer who was not Petrocelli making an offer for funeral expenses.
“The offer made didn't warrant a response,” Buzbee said.
Attorneys for the families of others who died at the festival did not immediately return emails or calls seeking comment.
Scott and the event organizers are the focus of a criminal investigation by Houston police. No timetable has been set for when the investigation would be completed.
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
William Nylander stood in a solemn visitors locker room at TD Garden just before midnight. The Maple Leafs had battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss. Nylander's message was emphatic.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.