Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy’ is a documentary that truly lives up to its title by shining a light upon the events that transpired during Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival on the evening of November 5, 2021. What was meant to be 2 days of unstoppable fun in Houston, Texas, turned into an utter tragedy as ten people lost their lives from what they endured while in the crowd. Hundreds more were injured, and Sophia Santana remembers every bit of it because not only did she barely survive the ordeal herself, but she also helped save another life.
Sophia Santana Traveled Over 1500 Miles to See Travis Scott
As a music lover and passionate concertgoer, when Sophia Santana heard that Travis Scott was bringing back Astroworld for the third time, she was extremely excited about it. That’s because she had not only spent the ensuing year and a half prior dedicating herself to her chosen field owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also because there were several artists she adored that were on his lineup. Therefore, the then-Program Associate at the Community Organized Relief Effort to administer COVID tests and vaccines in Los Angeles bought tickets alongside her boyfriend.
Even though the Astroworld Festival is in Houston, Texas, both Sophia and her boyfriend really wanted to go, so they made the decision to actually get on a flight and travel there, unaware of what was waiting for them. The truth is, Sophia, a Los Angeles Valley College Pre-Nursing Student (2017-2019), turned West Coast University Registered Nurse (2019-2021), graduated in August 2021, before earning her license to practice as a full-fledged Registered Nurse just three weeks before the concert. So, she and her fellow nurse boyfriend also decided that this would be a celebration.
Despite Nearly Getting Trampled, Sophia Didn’t Hesitate to Help Others
Sophia still remembers how excited she was the whole time leading up to the festival and on day 1 itself, especially as she got to see one of her favorite artists, SZA, perform live too. However, once she realized that Travis would soon be getting on the stage, she moved with the crowd to make her way to his stage, and she stood around the middle of the general admission section with her boyfriend. Little did either of them know that the whole place would soon get so crowded they wouldn’t even have any space to breathe, and as soon as the rapper came on stage, the chaos really began.
Since people were pushing back and forth, the crowd was more like a wave, with people not even having any balance of their own because there were just so many people squished beside them. The case was no different for Sophia, and she actually fell down on top of someone else not long after, losing the company and the sight of her boyfriend along the way. Despite the fact that she was on the ground asking for help, people were still walking by and all over her, but fortunately, a fellow concertgoer noticed her and pulled her out of the chaos, enabling her to finally take a breath.
However, this is when Sophia realized the gravity of the situation, especially as she saw paramedics helping out several other individuals, so she went into work mode and unofficially got on the clock. Not long after, she saw a man lying unconscious, barely breathing, on the ground, so she started following emergency protocols she had learned in the hopes of saving him. His pulse was so thready she knew he didn’t have long, but thankfully, her efforts panned out and he soon started breathing on his own – the man she saved was a local Texan by the name of Arturo Sanchez.
Sophia Santana Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life Today
After Sophia ensured Arturo’s safe transfer to a local hospital, she helped out wherever needed and soon found her boyfriend doing the same – they were separated for 30 minutes, but a lot happened in this time. Thankfully, they both managed to make it out of this ordeal physically okay, but they were affected by it a lot, especially as they later learned that a total of ten people passed away. Arturo thankfully survived, and since then, he and Sofia have become rather close friends, with him often referring to her as his “guardian angel,” who gave him his second shot at life.
Coming to Sophia’s standing, she continues to proudly serve as a Registered Nurse in Los Angeles, California. Having said that, she understandably prefers to keep all other details regarding her personal as well as private life on the down low for privacy reasons. So, from what we can tell, although she is still affected by what transpired back in late 2021, she is proud of how calmly and swiftly she reacted and hopes that nothing like this ever happens to any concertgoer again.
Read More: Arturo Sanchez: Where is the Astroworld Survivor Now?
