Bird Piché – injured by Trophy Eyes’ singer’s stage dive -remains optimistic for complete healing

Bird Piché, the individual affected by the regrettable stage dive incident at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, NY, on April 30th, has provided an update on her recovery progress. As evidenced by widely circulated footage, the incident occurred when Trophy Eyes vocalist John Floreani leapt backwards into the crowd, unintentionally landing on Piché.

The force of the impact resulted in partial paralysis for the 24-year-old Piché. The concert was abruptly halted, and reports indicate that Floreani accompanied Piché in the ambulance to the hospital. In a recent interview with NBC News, Piché shared that her prognosis has improved since the incident. She has begun to regain movement in her arms and has regained some function in her legs. Initially, Piché’s mother informed WKBW that her daughter had sustained a broken neck in the accident.

Although there are promising signs in her recovery, challenges persist in regaining full control of her hands and toes. Piché expressed these ongoing difficulties in her conversation with the aforementioned publication.

It was, like, his body and my neck. It was a crowd-surfing thing. When you hear about these types of injuries, they’re obviously very serious, so I didn’t expect to have any recovery. I have a long road ahead, but I’m very optimistic right now. I’m going to rehab either later today or tomorrow, but they do think I’ll have full recovery. Nothing is certain, obviously, but they are predicting l will have full recovery of everything. So my legs, it’s involuntary, have been kicking a lot lately. I can’t control it. My arms, they’re — besides my hand dexterity — almost fully there. My fingers don’t have full movement.

Piché and her immediate family have chosen not to comment on whether they plan to pursue legal action regarding the incident. Mohawk Place has historically enforced a ‘no crowd surfing’ policy, following a 2011 incident during a Terror and Trapped Under Ice concert where attendee Mike Bird sustained injuries to his C5 and C6 vertebrae after being struck by a stage diver. The resulting lawsuit posed a significant threat to the club’s operation for a period thereafter. While acknowledging her awareness of the possibility of crowd surfing and stage dives at concerts, Piché admitted that she did not anticipate the events that unfolded and led to her injury.

Some days after the accident, Trophy Eyes posted this statement on their social media accounts:

As the result of a tragic accident on the night of April 30th, a Trophy Eyes fan was injured at our Buffalo NY show. We elected to immediately shut down the show as John accompanied them to the hospital with their family. Out of respect for the family, we have refrained from speaking about this publicly so far, but with the blessing of their family we are now able to say how truly heartbroken we are to be here now. Our friend, Bird, is now in recovery, but still has a long road ahead for them. A gofundme has been set up by their family… [donate] This situation has shaken us all to our core, and we ask for patience while we look to help Bird navigate this difficult time. Please, keep Bird in your thoughts. We remain in close contact with them and will expand on this as new news arrives. Yours faithfully, Trophy Eyes“

The band donated $5,000 USD, and the venue $500 as well.