From Miami to Cabo San Lucas, the week-long festivities have been marred by fight clubs, shootings, a celebrity assault and even the tragic deaths of a few revelers.
The highest-profile victim of this year’s spring break pandemonium was Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, who was allegedly attacked by 19-year-old Max Hartley at the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to Miami Herald.
Hartley, who, according to a 911 caller, was “very highly intoxicated,” rushed the bum and rushed Allen at full speed while the musician was smoking a cigarette, knocking the 59-year-old over and causing him to hit his head. When a woman approached to help Allen, Hartley allegedly knocked her down as well, then dragged her to the back of the hotel to prevent her from escaping.
Hartley’s attorney, Sam Halpern, has denied those claims, calling his client “an extremely nice young man” who has “never been in trouble with the law before.”
Meanwhile, a violent incident in Miami’s South Beach on Friday night actually turned deadly when a shooting tragically interrupted the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Miami Beach Police have arrested a man after violence erupted at a busy intersection adjacent to Miami’s Palm Beach, leaving one man dead and another critically injured.
Police have not identified the victims, but they have a suspect in custody, who police say is “fully cooperating with the investigation.”
Even police officers have not been safe from the spate of spring break violence, in which an officer was assaulted by a college basketball player Wednesday at Fort Lauderdale’s popular Rock Bar, according to authorities.
De’Sean Allen-Eikens, a 22-year-old student at California State University, Northridge, allegedly got into an altercation with a bouncer at the busy bar that ended with the 6-foot-6-inch attacker being thrown to the floor.
When police were called, a Fort Lauderdale officer tried to calm Allen-Eikens down, but he was instead punched in the face for his trouble, according to police body camera footage.
Allen-Eikens, who was seen in handcuffs with a bloody nose after the encounter, now faces charges including battery on a police officer.
In between these flare-ups, revelers claim to have witnessed impromptu fight clubs breaking out on South Florida’s crowded beaches, according to NewsNation. One included women and brothers brawling in the sands of Fort Lauderdale, much to the delight of cheering crowds, reported Daily mail.
Yet some of the season’s most tragic events are caused not by violence, but by terrifying accidents.
Liza Burke, a senior at the University of Georgia from North Carolina, was eating breakfast in the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas when she complained of a headache and eventually became unresponsive.
Burke was eventually hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage and flown to a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, where she underwent surgery.
Although Burke has been reunited with her family after her harrowing medical ordeal, one student from New Jersey was not so lucky.
Ohio State University finance major Henry Meacock was confirmed dead on vacation after a heartbreaking Instagram post by his sister. The cause of his sudden death is still unclear.
“You are an extremely special soul who will live forever. The most beautiful boy inside and out. No one will ever have a smile like yours,” wrote Ellie Meacocks.
Given the potential risks, experts and health officials are urging caution during spring break.