TORONTO – A coroner’s inquest into the death of a technician killed during a stage collapse at a Radiohead concert in Toronto will get underway in the new year.
The Office of Ontario’s Chief Coroner says the proceedings are set to begin on March 25, 2019.
Scott Johnson, 33, was killed on June 16, 2012, when part of a massive stage structure crashed down just hours before Radiohead was due to perform at Downsview Park in north Toronto. Three others were injured.
Charges were laid in the case but were eventually stayed after a judge found the matter had taken too long to come to trial.
The inquest will examine the circumstances around Johnson’s death and a jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents.
Radiohead’s lead singer Thom Yorke has sharply criticized what he described as lack of accountability for the deadly collapse, and Johnson’s father has previously said he hopes the inquest will provide some answers.
Thirteen charges were laid in the case against the show’s promoter Live Nation, engineer Domenic Cugliari and contractor Optex Staging under provincial health and safety laws.
The subsequent trial was derailed when the presiding judge declared he had lost jurisdiction over the case given his appointment to a higher court. That decision led to a senior justice declaring a mistrial and a new hearing was planned.
In September 2017, charges in the case were stayed after a judge ruled the matter took too long to get to trial.
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