Streamer breaks back in TwitchCon foam pit

A streamer says she broke her back in two places, and will require surgery, after jumping into an apparently unsafe foam pit at TwitchCon San Diego. Another streamer dislocated her knee on the same stand.

Streamer and adult performer Adriana Chechik tweeted: “Well, I broke my back in two places and am getting surgery to put a meter rod in for support today.” Her fall was caught on video by fellow streamer Jake Lucky. The video’s embedded below, but be warned, it’s an uncomfortable watch.

After an American Gladiators-style battle with foam batons over the pit, Chechik is seen jumping in, shouting in pain, and saying, “I can’t get up.”

In a separate, but very similar incident at the same stand, streamer LochVaness reported dislocating her knee and spraining her ankle after jumping in. “I will never be able to trust Twitch at another convention in my entire life,” she tweeted, with video. Again, the video is embedded below and is painful to watch.

Another attendee said he “went right through the foam and hit the concrete floor” after jumping into the foam pit, though he reported no injuries. Many attendees said the pit seemed dangerously shallow.

One attendee told Polygon that they had to sign a waiver before participating in the foam pit, and were given instructions not to hit or kick, but no safety instructions.

The foam pit was part of a stand sponsored by Lenovo and Intel. Neither company responded to a request for comment from Polygon, although a spokesperon for Lenovo confirmed to Kotaku that the foam pit had been closed for further use, saying: “We are aware of the incidents of TwitchCon visitors who sustained injuries in the gladiator game soft foam pit at the Lenovo booth. The area has since been closed for any further use while we work with event organizers to look into the incidents.”

Twitch had no comment when approached by Polygon.