Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Coroner: Man found in Electric Daisy parking lot OD’d on Ecstasy

2014 EDC: Night One

Sam Morris

Attendees relax in the Cosmic Meadow during the first night of the Electric Daisy Carnival on Saturday, June 21, 2014, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Updated Wednesday, July 9, 2014 | 3:44 p.m.

Best of 2014 EDC

Performers are shown during the final night of the 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, June 22, 2014. Launch slideshow »

A 24-year-old man who was found unconscious in the parking lot at the Electric Daisy Carnival last month died of an accidental overdose of Ecstasy, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

Montgomery Tsang of San Leandro, Calif., was pronounced dead at 6:12 a.m. June 21 after the first night of the all-night electronic dance music festival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The cause of death was determined to be acute methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) toxicity, with other significant conditions being cardiac enlargement, according to the coroner. MDMA is more popularly known as Ecstasy, according to the coroner's office.

Though the coroner’s report used the terms Ecstasy and MDMA — the latter commonly known by its street name “molly” — interchangeably, it’s unclear which drug Tsang took. While ecstasy includes MDMA, ecstasy is commonly and often indeterminately cut with other drugs, which can range from caffeine to riskier substances like cocaine, ketamine and methamphetamine.

Recreational use of both drugs has spiked in popularity in recent years among fans of the electronic dance music and rave scenes, and at least nine drug related fatalities have been reported surrounding music festivals around the world in 2014.

While EDC organizer Insomniac Events enforces a zero-tolerance drug policy at the Speedway, security can do little to stop attendees from taking illegal substances before entering the festival grounds.

No additional information has been released about the deaths of two other young people who were in Las Vegas for the EDC.

Anthony Anaya, 25, of Everett, Wash., was found unconscious at the Vdara the evening of June 21 and later died. He attended the EDC, but it was unknown if his death was linked to the festival, Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy said.

In the other case, a man visiting Las Vegas for the EDC died in the hospital without ever making it to the music festival, according to the coroner’s office.

Joey Saychack, 21, of Fresno, Calif., was found unresponsive June 20 at a Las Vegas home and transported to Spring Valley Hospital, Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg said. Saychack died June 25 at the hospital.

In a statement, Insomniac said Saychack “never set foot inside of our event and Electric Daisy Carnival had nothing to do with this incident. Insomniac continues to do everything possible to keep our fans safe, but at a certain point, the media needs to focus on personal responsibility/accountability and stop placing blame on the events these individuals attend, or in this case, think about attending.”

Metro Police said 794 festival-goers were treated for medical conditions, but only 25 were taken to hospitals. Officers made 73 felony drug arrests and 21 misdemeanor arrests.

The festival drew about 400,000 people during its three-night run.

The event moved to Las Vegas from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after 2010, when a 15-year-old girl died after being treated for drug intoxication and 114 people were arrested on misconduct, drug and other charges.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy