Several injured in 'stampede' at MARTA station after Beyoncé concert

'Stampede' after Beyoncé concert at MARTA station

Multiple people injured after concert at downtown Atlanta MARTA station Monday night.

ATLANTA - Several people have been injured in an incident at a MARTA station after Beyoncé's final "Cowboy Carter" concert in Atlanta.

Witnesses say crowds could be seen running as they left Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

MORE: Unreleased Beyoncé music stolen from car at Atlanta's Krog Street Market

What we know:

The incident happened at the Vine City MARTA Station just after midnight. According to MARTA officials, nine people were injured when an escalator abruptly lurched upward and then stopped, causing a stampede of passengers who had crowded onto the moving stairs after the sold-out concert.

MARTA officials say the situation began when a person started screaming and running, which caused a "stampede" on the escalator at the station. A witness told FOX 5 that the escalator sped up and then abruptly stopped working, which caused people to fall on top of each other, pinning them down.

One person who said they were on the escalator at the time said they had suddenly had multiple people on top of them, describing the situation as the group being "smashed together." 

FOX 5 cameras spotted medics taking people out of the station on stretchers and wheelchairs. 

Authorities say that one person suffered a broken ankle and seven others were transported to the hospital with cuts and scrapes.

What they're saying:

"It just created a whole entire slide full of people," said Westlake High School student Jacobi Edwards. "It just started tumbling—people just tumbling on each other. It was crazy, it was chaotic."

Witnesses said the escalator appeared to collapse after too many people boarded at once. One person reportedly screamed and began running, triggering panic and a rush down the escalator. Seven people were transported to the hospital with cuts and bruises. One individual suffered a broken ankle, while Edwards sustained a sprained ankle.

"It just abruptly stopped," Edwards said. "It just stopped and it collapsed. We didn't know what was going on."

Edwards’ mother, Dr. Billie Rucker, said she was out of town when she got the call about the accident. Grateful her son wasn’t more seriously hurt, she urged MARTA to take action before the city hosts upcoming international events.

"We have the soccer tournaments coming up and so these are some of the things we need to start looking at, especially like monitoring on public transportation," Rucker said. "We want to put our best foot forward. This is like one of those learning lessons we need to go back to the drawing board and take into consideration."

'Stampede' at MARTA station

Several people were injured during a "stampede" at a MARTA station near Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Beyonce's final show in Atlanta.

MARTA's escalator issues

Dig deeper:

Long before Monday’s escalator incident at Vine City Station, MARTA faced a troubled history with the very machines designed to move passengers safely between levels.

Since its inception in the 1970s, MARTA has relied heavily on escalators across its 38 rail stations. But for decades, these systems have been the source of repeated mechanical failures, crowd-related injuries, and mounting public criticism.

One of the earliest high-profile incidents occurred on New Year’s Eve in 2007, when three escalators—two at Five Points Station and one at Dome/CNN Center—malfunctioned during holiday festivities. Witnesses said the machines abruptly sped up or reversed direction, causing passengers to fall in a pileup. At least 11 people were injured, some seriously. MARTA initially cited horseplay as the cause, but investigations later revealed braking and motor failures.

Similar issues persisted in the following years. On Jan. 22, 2011, an escalator at Five Points Station suddenly reversed, throwing a woman to the ground. She suffered serious injuries and later filed a lawsuit against MARTA. The failure was again traced to a faulty brake and underpowered motor—problems that continued to appear throughout the system.

Through the 2010s and into the 2020s, riders regularly reported jerky escalator motion, prolonged outages, and inaccessible transfer points, particularly at major hubs like Peachtree Center, Lindbergh, and Five Points.

In response, MARTA launched a $40 million modernization project in 2015 aimed at upgrading its escalators and elevators. But progress was slow, hampered by parts shortages and a phased implementation plan.

What's next:

The escalator has been blocked off temporarily while its manufacturer and MARTA Safety teams investigate the incident.