TEMPE, Ariz. - A woman watching a musical at Grady Gammage auditorium at ASU told 12 News Friday night about the horror that unfolded during intermission of a live performance last month.
A man fell from one of the balconies and landed on top of her and another woman.
Michelle Shamah is the woman who took the brunt of the fall a few weeks ago. Friday night, she was still counting her blessings, just thankful she survived.
911 recordings reveal the tense moments after a man plummeted more than 25 feet from the second-level balcony.
911 Caller: “Ah, I’m at Gammage auditorium in Tempe and someone just fell from the top balcony."
911 Caller: "We need somebody here right away.”
911 Caller: “On the floor, on the floor, someone’s gotta get here soon.”
The drop happened during intermission of a performance a few days after Thanksgiving. Seth Catz landed on Shamah, thinking there was a walkway on the other side of a small wall.
“Next thing I knew it was just ‘slam,’ you know,” she said. “And it was right here on my shoulder and part of my face, he sort of like scraped.”
Shamah said the force broke the chairs.
“The whole seat collapsed beneath me,” she said. “I thought the walls were collapsing. I didn’t know what was going on and I see this guy just there.”
Shamah said she told Catz not to move. A lady next to her passed out.
“It was just so crazy,” she said.
Michelle went home after an evening in the hospital.
“I never thought I’d say I’m just thankful that I’m here, you know, like had he landed just like an inch over, that could have been it,” said Shamah. “I’m just happy not to be paralyzed or dead.”
Now, nearly three weeks later, Michelle still has a sore shoulder and some bad dreams here and there, but amazingly, she’s OK after that close call.
Luckily, no one suffered any life-threatening injuries.