A Boston nightclub is facing questions from the city’s licensing board after a woman collapsed on the dance floor and later died at a hospital.
Anastaiya Morales, a 27-year-old mother of two children, was at ICON nightclub to celebrate her sister’s birthday last month. As NBC10 Boston reported, family members say the party inside the establishment continued, despite the medical emergency.
City leaders suspended the nightclub’s license while they investigate the incident.
On Tuesday morning, the Boston Licensing Board held a hearing and heard testimony from Boston police, club employees, attorneys and Morales’ friends and family members.
According to a Boston police report, officers had a difficult time controlling the crowd when they arrived, making it difficult to provide emergency care to Morales.
Angelica Morales told the licensing board the party continued as her sister was unresponsive on the ground.
Cellphone video she shared with NBC10 Boston depicts the chaotic scene inside the nightclub during the early morning hours of Dec. 21.
“They say the immediately responded to the situation,” Morales said. “They did not.”
Morales said after briefly stopping the music, it started playing again, which added to the commotion and created additional challenges for first responders.
“Who gave the order to continue the music to the disc jockey?” said Howard Kahalas, an attorney representing the family.
Shanice Monteiro, who was part of the birthday celebration, told licensing board members that she ran outside to flag down Boston police officers.
“Everybody was still partying,” Monteiro said. “There was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped.”
Attorneys representing ICON nightclub disputed those claims.
During testimony, two bouncers and a bartender testified that Morales — who had a heart condition, according to family — showed no signs of intoxication when she arrived at the nightclub.
Attorneys said surveillance video shows Morales consumed one drink and was only at the club for about 30 minutes before collapsing. A family member told police that Morales had smoked marijuana earlier in the evening.
Kevin Montgomery, a security director at the nightclub, testified that he immediately called for an ambulance when he learned of the medical situation. He said he made a second phone call when he discovered Morales did not have a pulse.
Montgomery praised the actions of employees during what he described as a “chaotic” situation.
“My security did a tremendous job of clearing a really good path for all the emergency personnel to get to the patient,” Montgomery said.
Tyler Henseler, an attorney representing ICON nightclub, said surveillance video provided to the licensing board as evidence illustrates a rapid response to the medical emergency.
In the wake of the incident, the nightclub hired a retired Boston police detective to prepare a detailed timeline and review emergency procedure protocols.
Henseler called the incident a “tragedy” that the nightclub could not have prevented.
“ICON staff and security reacted to what can only be described as a catastrophe,” Henseler said, “A medical emergency in a busy nightclub with all necessary speed and professionalism.”
The Boston Licensing Board is expected to decide if ICON should face any violations at its meeting on Thursday. For now, the nightclub’s license to operate remains suspended.