Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen suffered a head injury after a 19-year-old bouncer allegedly assaulted him outside his Florida hotel this weekend.
Max Edward Hartley — an Ohio resident vacationing in Fort Lauderdale — hid behind a pillar before running at full speed toward the 59-year-old drummer, according to a Fort Lauderdale police report cited by the Daily Mail. Allen has only one arm left as a result of a car accident on New Year’s Eve 1984.
Allen was standing near the Four Seasons Hotel valet smoking a cigarette when he was hit. He was thrown to the ground and hit his head on the cement, “causing injuries,” the police report said.
A woman ran out of the hotel to help the musician, but then Hartley reportedly turned on her and attacked her as she tried to run back. According to police, Hartley continued to beat her as she lay on the ground. He then grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the lobby onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area, the report said.
Hartley reportedly looked at the musician before attacking him. The 19-year-old was arrested near the Hotel Conrad shortly after the attack, where he damaged several vehicles in the parking garage. Allen made a statement to the police and asked for prosecution.
Hartley was charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and one count of molesting an elderly or disabled adult.
Allen stayed in the Fort Lauderdale area on Sunday to perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are in the middle of their 2023 World Tour, which started last month and will conclude in August.
Source: LA Times