A Purdue University student is suing the school, alleging that she was injured in a stampede of people outside Mackey Arena during basketball ticket sales last year.
As reported by Fox affiliate WXIN in Indianapolis, Alanna Nash filed the lawsuit last Friday in Tippecanoe County Court. She claims that the university is responsible for injuries she reportedly suffered during a “chaotic and dangerous” scene outside the on-campus basketball arena.
Attorneys for Nash said that on Feb. 5, 2023, thousands of students were gathered outside Mackey Arena waiting to enter a raffle for tickets to the Purdue men’s basketball student section.
The lawsuit alleges that around 12 p.m. rumors swirled that the doors to the arena were opened and an “uncontrolled mob of people” pushed forward “violently” from all around Nash and made it impossible for her to move, Joe Schroeder of WXIN reported.
During what attorneys called a “mass push of bodies,” Nash was reportedly pushed from her right side before collapsing and fracturing multiple bones in her left foot. The incident, Nash argues, caused not only physical injury but also medical expenses and emotional distress.
The lawsuit argues that Purdue’s employees and representatives were negligent when they failed to provide “reasonable and adequate security” or crowd control. Furthermore, attorneys said that the university knew or should have known a “chaotic and dangerous” incident could happen.
Now, Nash’s attorneys say she “prays and demands” that a jury trial be brought against the university in order to determine how to fairly compensate her for “all her losses, damages and injuries.”
WXIN reached out to Purdue on Tuesday afternoon for comment, but a representative said the university has not yet been served.
