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Young woman fears she has suffered permanent damage to her eyesight after allegedly being beaten in a mosh pit by another female festival-goer
- WARNING GRAPHICS
- Riqui Vines, 26, was reportedly assaulted by an unknown woman at a music festival
- She was at Lost and Found Music Festival in Rockhampton, central Queensland
- Ms. Vines said she accidentally bumped into the woman twice in the mosh pit
- The attacks left Ms Vine with a concussion and possible permanent eye damage
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A young woman has said she had “one of the worst nights of my life” after being attacked at a regional music festival.
Riqui Vines, 26, and her aunt, Angela Elliott, were dancing Saturday at the Lost and Found Music Festival at the Rockhampton Showgrounds, in Central Queensland, when they accidentally bumped into another woman in the mosh pit.
Ms Vines claimed that a group of young girls nearby warned her that the woman was being aggressive but said she was “having too much fun” to pay much attention to it.
The university student is said to have been punched in the face by the woman, leaving a black eye she fears is now permanently damaged.
Riqui Vines (above) was attacked while attending a music festival with her aunt in Rockhampton, Central Queensland
Ms Vines (pictured with her aunt) said she was dancing in the mosh pit when she bumped into a woman who allegedly punched her on the lip and punched her in the face
She explained that the crowd was “pushing and pushing,” as most revelers do in a mosh pit.
But after Ms. Vines was shoved into the woman, she claimed the other festival-goer “broke my lip.”
“I immediately hit her back to defend myself and then I told her to settle down because we were all there to have fun and we don’t want to be kicked out,” she told the Daily Mail Australia.
Shocked but determined to have fun anyway, Ms. Vine decided to ignore the woman and focus on dancing with her aunt.
But the crowd went wild as the next act got ready to take the stage and Mrs. Vine was shoved back into the woman.
“Then she pushed me in the left eye with her right elbow from close by,” she claimed.
“I fell back into the crowd and immediately got a concussion and dazed.
“I could barely see and didn’t have much control over my body, but I could see she was about to keep hitting me, so I tried my hardest to stay conscious, then I saw my aunt grab her and give her spin around and she hit my aunt.’
Ms. Vines said she had a concussion, unconscious and with a black eye from the attack (pictured, Ms. Vines immediately after the attack)
Ms Vines said she ‘went from the top of the world to one of the worst nights of my life’ while at the festival with her aunt (both pictured above, before the attack)
Ms. Vine said the next thing she remembers was being carried out of the crowd and put into an ambulance.
“I was taken to Rockhampton Hospital, but it was so busy there that my mother decided to take me to Yeppoon Hospital, where I was told I had suffered a concussion and was given pain medication and medical care,” she said.
The next day, she went back to Rockhampton Hospital, where scans confirmed she had no broken bones.
Ms. Vines said she is concerned she may have suffered permanent eye damage from the attack (pictured, Ms. Vines’ black eye)
But doctors warned her to see an optometrist as soon as the swelling subsides, because there’s a chance she could have permanent damage to her vision.
“I’ve never been involved in a fight, I’ve never even seen a fight at any other festival and I’ve been to a few,” said Ms. Vine.
“Everyone in the crowd was super understanding and we all apologized to each other and helped each other.
“She was just a bad egg in the crowd. She shouldn’t have been there and she shouldn’t be at any other festival.”
Queensland Police said they are investigating the matter.
Ms Vines said she was warned by a group of young girls before the attack that the woman was allegedly acting aggressively (pictured, Ms Vines after the attack)