FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he was blindsided throughout an assault on him outdoors a South Florida lodge following a live performance earlier this 12 months.
“I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this (flash) and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground,” Allen, 59, advised ABC’s ” Good Morning America ” in an interview broadcast Monday. “I landed on my backside — hit my head on the pavement.”
Def Leppard was in Fort Lauderdale to carry out on the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino when he was attacked March 13 whereas taking a smoke break outdoors a lodge.
Police arrested Max Hartley, a 19-year-old from Avon, Ohio, who has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of battery and 4 counts of legal mischief, in accordance with court docket data. Police stated they haven’t decided a motive.
“I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm,” stated Allen, who misplaced his left arm in a automotive accident in 1984.
According to the police report, Hartley was hiding behind a pillar outdoors the lodge after which ran at Allen, knocking him to the bottom. He additionally attacked a lady who tried to assist Allen, however she wasn’t critically injured.
Hartley then ran to a different lodge and began breaking automotive home windows till he was stopped by witnesses and police arrived, police stated.
Hartley’s lawyer, Kevin Gardiner, stated in an e mail that he can’t touch upon a pending case.
Allen’s head struck the bottom in the course of the assault, and he and his spouse, Lauren Monroe, advised “Good Morning America” that they’ve been specializing in his restoration.
“My heart just completely sank into me. I know the journey of trauma. Everything stopped in our house and focused on him,” Monroe stated.
The couple created the Raven Drum Foundation to assist survivors of trauma, particularly veterans and first responders, in 2001.
Allen and his bandmates carried out Friday at a small venue of their hometown of Sheffield, England, on Friday earlier than kicking off their European tour.
“I know that I’m not going to be playing music in a band forever,” stated Allen. “But while I am, I plan on making as many people happy as I possibly can. And this is my time. This is my opportunity.”
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