SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who was critically injured by flying debris over the weekend while trying to escape a storm that disrupted Redwest Music Festival has died.
Ava Ahlander, 23, died from her injuries, according to Salt Lake police. She died at a hospital after her organs were donated, a family representative said earlier Monday. Ahlander was originally from American Fork but was residing in the Seattle area, and had returned to Utah with a friend to attend the music festival at Utah State Fairpark with other friends from Utah, as she loved music festivals, said Bobby Ahlander, her uncle.
“She just always loved having fun. It was really fun to be around her,” he said. “Honestly, it’s been excruciating. The grief and the sorrow, and of course, it’s such a big surprise; and it’s just such a huge loss.”
Officers and firefighters responded to a report of an injured person near 1055 W. North Temple shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday, according to Salt Lake Police Lt. Leigh Willis. The concert had been suspended as a thunderstorm rolled into the Wasatch Front, and many attendees started running for cover to avoid the lightning, rain and strong winds.
Ava Ahlander was near a car with three friends, which was parked near a construction site, when she was struck by a large plank from scaffolding that also fell onto her car, Willis said. She was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
The plank hit her while all four were outside the vehicle in what appears to have been a “freak accident,” Bobby Ahlander said. He said she had to be revived afterward, but doctors ultimately determined that she had lost brain activity. Her family said she was kept on life support long enough for her family to say goodbye.
“Even in her passing, Ava continues to give the gift of life to others as an organ donor — a final act of generosity that truly reflects her caring nature and desire to help those in need,” they wrote on a GoFundMe* page.
In addition to her love of music, Bobby Ahlander said Ava Ahlander loved the outdoors, the Pacific Ocean and her new home in the Pacific Northwest. She attended American Fork High School before moving out to the Portland, Oregon, area for college, and then to Seattle.
Other family members described her as a “beautiful soul” whose kindness and adventurous spirit “touched everyone around her,” in a statement. She is survived by her parents and five siblings.
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The family says they plan to use funds from the crowdfunding campaign to help cover medical and burial costs, as well as grief counseling services for people affected. That includes help for the three friends who were with her at the time of the scaffolding collapse, Bobby Ahlander said.
Saturday’s storm prompted a high wind warning from the National Weather Service, which said wind gusts of 60 mph were possible as a cold front swept through the region. Willis said a strong wind burst likely caused the scaffolding to fall. No other information about the incident was available as of Monday.
The festival’s Saturday activities, including a performance from headliner Post Malone, were ultimately canceled because of the weather.
Contributing: Eric Cabrera and Mike Anderson
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
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