Toots Hibbert was struck on the forehead by a vodka bottle launched from the crowd by a teen audience member.
- May 20, 2013
AceShowbiz - Jamaican musical group Toots & the Maytals had to cut short their Saturday night performance at the three-day Dominion Riverrock Outdoor Sports and Music Festival in Richmond, Virginia when lead vocalist Toots Hibbert got suddenly injured. The veteran reggae singer was struck on the forehead by a glass vodka bottle that flew towards the stage while he was in the middle of his set.
The vodka bottle was launched by an intoxicated 19-year-old male member of the audience, who was later arrested and charged by Richmond police with public intoxication and aggravated assault. According to festival organizers Venture Richmond, the bottle had been stolen from the venue's bar by the still unidentified young assailant.
Hibbert, who was brought to a nearby hospital to get treatment for the cut he sustained from the injury, was said to be in good spirits upon leaving the facility that same night. "He was lucid. He was laughing. He was tired obviously. He had had a very long day," Stephen Lecky of Venture Richmond said about the 67-year-old Hibbert, adding that "he was one of the nicest men I ever met."
Despite the traumatic incident that was said to have occurred around 10:20 P.M., Hibbert regretted that he and his band had to cut their performance short. After the commotion, the concert was stopped altogether and the concertgoers were all just asked to leave.
