Woman Paralyzed After Man Falls on Her at Music Festival

A Tennessee woman now faces paralysis from the waist down after a man tumbled from a tree and landed directly on her during a heavy metal concert. Jamie Ulshoffer was sitting on the ground with her husband, Conor, at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky, when the disaster struck Friday night. The incident occurred around 11:15 pm while the band Knocked Loose performed. A man who had climbed up into a tree suddenly fell onto Jamie.

Conor told WHAS11 that he turned to look and saw his wife lying on her back. Then Evelyn, a friend of theirs, shouted out that some dude had fallen from a tree. Louisville Metro Police officers provided first aid until emergency medical services arrived. They transported the woman to University of Louisville Hospital, according to The Courier Journal. When Jamie spoke up from her hospital bed about what happened, she confirmed the severity of the situation immediately.

'I'm paralyzed. I can't feel my feet. I can't do anything that I used to,' Jamie said. Her husband noted he knew things were grave when she claimed she could not feel her legs. The force of the impact also cracked three of her ribs. Medical reports indicate she suffered a severed spinal cord from the fall.

She addressed the man responsible for this tragedy with blunt honesty. 'You shouldn't have been up there,' Jamie said regarding his actions. 'Stupid decision.' Despite the pain, she added that he had done something wrong but she would forgive him. It is not yet known if criminal charges were filed against the man who fell on her. The Daily Mail has reached out to local police and festival organizers for comment.

Jamie's niece, Cheyenne Will, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for hospital bills so far eight thousand dollars has been raised toward an initial goal of twenty-two thousand. The couple are dedicated fans of festivals like this one. Louder Than Life calls itself America's Loudest Rock & Metal Festival and takes place at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville. This year the event ran from September 17 to 20, featuring acts such as Rage Against the Machine, BABYMETAL, and Danny Elfman. The festival usually draws around two hundred thousand attendees annually.

The Ulshoffers are unsure when they can get back home to Tennessee at this stage of her recovery. They attended the event in past years too.