4 Die as Nightclub Brawl Spawns Panicked Crush on Narrow Stairwell

Party laughs and reggae gave way to screams of terror as hundreds of youths trying to escape a bottle-and chair-throwing brawl squeezed into a nightclub’s narrow stairwell.

Three young men and a 13-year-old girl were crushed to death early Saturday and about two dozen people were taken to the hospital with sprains and bruises.

“All of a sudden this commotion started, everyone got anxious, they were tripping down the stairs and landing on top of each other in layers,” said 19-year-old Aldwin Vega.

Authorities found people stacked four or five on top of each other. Most of the victims were treated at a hospital and released. Four teen-age girls remained hospitalized in stable condition.

Vega made it outside, then helped pull people off the pile at the bottom of the stairs where a single door opens on the street.

“I was stuck under there for about half an hour. I couldn’t breathe, and people were screaming for help,” said Estevan Sullivan, 16. People stepped on his head as they scrambled to get out, leaving him badly bruised.

Police identified the dead as Sherrita Burch, 13; Peter Perla, 18; Jose Goncalvez, 17, and Julio Almodovar, 21. All the victims were from Elizabeth.

The party-goers who were crushed tried to escape through the front stairwell, the way they had entered the second-story club. Some youths used a back stairwell; a third exit off a separate room went unused.

Police Lt. Mark Kurdyla said no charges were filed immediately, but police were investigating the fighting, possible overcrowding and underage drinking. He said there were no reports of weapons used in the fighting.

Three hundred or more people jammed the El Balcon club, which had been rented for a private party Friday night. The club owner told police the legal capacity of the room was 225.

Franz Vargas, manager of Bouncing Babies Productions, which organized the dance, said about 200 invitations were distributed, mostly at Elizabeth High School.

Some witnesses told police the trouble began when one young man kissed a girl on the dance floor, and another man became jealous.

Vargas said his bouncers tried to take the fight outside, but a crowd followed them down the stairs.

“Things got out of hand outside,” Vargas said. “As it got worse outside we started pushing the crowd back inside the hall.”

But more fighting broke out inside, and people on a balcony began throwing things down at the crowd, causing panic, witnesses said.

Vargas said his 10 security people and 10 other staffers were unable to get control.