Def Leppard Drummer Rick Allen Suffers Head Injury in Attack Outside Florida Hotel
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was injured outside his Florida hotel after he was shoved to the ground by a teenage tourist.
The British rocker, 59, was smoking in the valet area outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale when his alleged attacker approached from behind a pole, according to an arrest report obtained by PEOPLE.
The suspect, 19-year-old Max Hartley, allegedly ran “full speed” toward Allen and struck him, which caused the musician to fall backward and hit his head on the ground, according to the arrest report.
Hartley also attacked a woman who came outside to help Allen, and the arrest report says he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her out of the hotel’s lobby after she ran back inside to escape.
The teen, who was visiting from Ohio, fled the scene but was arrested after he was found breaking car windows in a nearby hotel parking lot. He was charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult, according to the report.
Allen — who had his left arm amputated in January 1985 following a New Year’s Eve car accident — reportedly provided a sworn statement to police telling them he wants to prosecute Hartley, who was bailed out of the Broward County Jail on Tuesday.
A rep for Def Leppard had no comment when reached by PEOPLE. TMZ was first to report the news.
The “Pour Some Sugar on Me” rockers were in town to headline a concert Sunday night alongside Mötley Crüe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Leave a Reply