4 Country Music Festival Fans Die, 3 in Same Camper

Officials say there's no danger in attending the Faster Horses festival

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Jul 18, 2021 2:32 PM CDT

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4 Country Music Festival Fans Die, 3 in Same Camper — File photo shows Jason Aldean performing in Las Vegas in 2019. Aldean was one of the headliners of the Faster Horses festival in Michigan, near where four festivalgoers died. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

At least four people died while attending a weekend country music festival in southern Michigan, including three men who likely succumbed to carbon monoxide exposure inside a travel trailer, authorities said Saturday. Two more men were in critical condition at a hospital from the same exposure, the Lenawee County sheriff's office said. The five men were in their early 20s. A concerned friend called 911 around 1:30 p.m. when he had not heard from them during the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway, 80 miles (128.7 kilometers) west of Detroit. They were staying at a campground outside the festival grounds in Woodstock Township.

“This tragic incident is being investigated as a suspected carbon monoxide exposure from a generator located very near the travel trailer,” the sheriff's office said on Twitter. Separately, state police reported the death of a 30-year-old woman, Melissa Havens of Croswell. The cause and manner was unknown, state police said, although investigators were looking for a suspect. “Detectives want the public to know there is no danger or threats to people attending” the music festival, state police said. The three-day festival is scheduled to conclude Sunday. Its headliners include Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean. (More carbon monoxide stories.)

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