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Boston nightclub says it handled a woman’s fatal medical episode properly. Her loved ones disagree.
A woman collapsed on the dancefloor of ICON, a club in Boston's Theater District, last month and died.
Early on the morning of Dec. 21, Anastaiya Colon suffered a medical episode while at ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District. She collapsed on the dancefloor and was later pronounced dead. Now, the club is facing scrutiny from regulators as they debate whether the establishment violated laws during the incident.
The Boston Licensing Board heard from attorneys representing the club and those who were with Colon that night during a hearing on Tuesday. The city suspended ICON’s entertainment license in the wake of the incident. The board is assessing three potential violations: whether ICON served alcohol to an intoxicated patron, whether it failed to properly supervise the crowd, and whether it permitted a disturbance resulting in police attention.
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According to a police report, crowds inside the club encroached on officers as they worked to help Colon inside ICON. Officers were unable to create a “viable workspace” for EMTs, the report said. Police ultimately had to shut down the club and remove all patrons due to the crowd not complying with demands to give space for EMTs to work.
Colon’s sister and a friend, both of whom were out at the club with her that night, said during the hearing that ICON’s staff did not adequately respond to the emergency. The club and its representatives are adamant that staff handled the situation professionally and had no trouble controlling the crowd.
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“ICON staff and security reacted to what can only be described as a catastrophe, a medical emergency in a busy nightclub with all necessary speed and professionalism,” said Tyler Henseler, an attorney representing the club, during the hearing.
Two witnesses, a bouncer and a bartender, testified that they interacted with Colon and did not see any signs of intoxication. Colon arrived at the club at 11:53 p.m. and collapsed at about 12:22 a.m. She ordered one drink during that time, a tequila Red Bull, the bartender testified.
Police were told that Colon and the people she was with smoked and “had a few drinks” before going to ICON, according to the report. Officers were also told that Colon had a heart condition. Drug use was not listed as a suspected factor in the medical incident.
Kevin Montgomery, the club’s head of security, was working that night. He testified during the hearing. After discovering the medical emergency, Montgomery said he immediately called Boston EMS directly, knowing that it would result in a faster response than a normal 911 call.
The crowd did not impede police or EMTs, Montgomery said. He waited to shut down and evacuate the club because doing so would have created a bottleneck at the building’s entrance, he said, which could have hindered first responders. The capacity of ICON is 481 and there were about 370 people there at the time of the emergency, he added.
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Angelica Morales, Colon’s sister, testified that she has a video on her phone that disproves some of the club’s narrative. This is being submitted for the board to review. ICON did not immediately respond to the emergency, she said.
“She wasn’t having a seizure, she was limp. I ran to the DJ booth, literally bombarded everybody that was in my way to get to the DJ booth, told them to cut the music off. On my way back the music was cut off for a minute or two, maybe less, and they cut the music back on,” Morales said.
When asked about the music, Montgomery said that a back room was playing music and that did not get immediately shut off because the DJ did not know about the medical emergency.
Shanice Monteiro, a friend who was out with Colon and Morales, compared the scene around Colon to a “mosh pit.” After seeing Colon collapse, Monteiro said she went outside to flag down police to help.
“I struggled to get outside. Once I got outside, everybody was still partying, there was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped,” Monteiro said during the hearing.
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Monteiro did manage to flag down to police officers outside. The first officers arrived inside the club at 12:28 a.m., Henseler said, citing surveillance footage. EMTs arrived at 12:35 a.m., and Colon was transported to Tufts Medical Center at 12:45 a.m., he said.
The board took the matter under advisement and is expected to decide later this week on whether ICON should face any violations.
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