Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Def Leppard’s one-armed drummer Rick Allen was attacked by what appears to be a stranger outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale Beach, FL on Monday. Police said Allen suffered a head injury after a teenager attacked the unsuspecting drummer and pushed him backwards to the ground.
Max Edward Hartley, 19, an Ohio resident who was visiting Florida and was reportedly on spring break, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault, four counts of criminal mischief and molestation of an elderly or disabled adult.
According to a Fort Lauderdale police report, Allen, 59, was smoking a cigarette outside the hotel when Hartley, who was hiding behind a pole, charged Allen “at full speed” and threw him onto the ground on his back. Allen hit his head on the sidewalk as he fell.
Police say a woman came out of the hotel to help Allen after seeing the incident and was also pushed to the ground by Hartley, who then grabbed the woman’s hair and dragged her back into the hotel. Hartley was arrested after running to another nearby hotel where he allegedly damaged several cars in a parking garage. After the charges were brought, he posted bail and was released.
According to WSVN-TV in Fort Lauderdale, Allen gave an affidavit to police and told them he intended to prosecute.
Information about Allen’s condition has not been released. Neither he nor the band have commented on the incident.
Def Leppard was in Florida on March 12 for a concert with Motley Crüe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Allen lost his arm in a car accident in 1984. He then taught himself to play drums with just his right arm and both feet using a specially made kit and has remained Def Leppard’s drummer ever since. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band has sold more than 35.5 million albums in the US alone, including two Diamond-certified 10 million sellers in Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987).