Osheaga 2024 drowning death was accidental: Quebec coroner

Logan Christopher Brideau. (Source: Henry Walser Funeral Home)

A Quebec coroner has deemed the death of an Osheaga music festivalgoer last August as being accidental, having occurred under the influence.

Logan Christopher Brideau drowned in the Olympic Basin at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Aug. 4, 2024. The 20-year-old had come from Ontario to attend the festival with friends.

A toxicology analysis detected cannabis, psilocin (a component of hallucinogenic mushrooms), prescription anti-depressant medication and low levels of alcohol in Brideau’s blood.

According to coroner Jean Brochu’s report, Brideau and his friends rented an apartment for the weekend where they drank alcohol before heading to the venue around 4 p.m. He also consumed “magic” mushrooms on-site.

Around 7 p.m., Brideau told a friend he wasn’t feeling well and needed to lie down. He then texted his group saying he wanted to go back to the apartment.

After throwing up, Brideau walked toward the basin, typically used for kayaking competitions. His friends soon went looking for him and ran into some police officers.

They told the officers Brideau was overstimulated, affected by the hot weather, and wanted to get away from the large crowds. They also said Brideau was hallucinating slightly and believed the festival’s security guards wanted to kick him out.

Montreal police records indicate officers were called in the early evening concerning a man swimming in the basin. When a Parc Jean-Drapeau employee went to check on him, no one was seen in the water.

Brideau’s body was fished out just after 11 p.m., fully clothed. It was impossible for first responders to resuscitate him as rigor mortis had already set in, meaning he had been dead for hours.

The coroner ruled out the possibility of suicide as his friends did not report any suicidal ideation and no evidence of such intentions were found on his phone.

However, the coroner notes that because he knew how to swim and there were no witnesses to his death, several unanswered questions remain.

No autopsy was done as there were no marks of trauma or violence on his body.

It was not the first time an Osheaga festivalgoer drowned in the Basin – in 2018, an 18-year-old attendee from Ottawa drowned in the St. Lawrence River.