A California woman who collapsed and died while saving seats for her family at a sweltering jazz festival had only just moved back into the home she lost in the devastating LA wildfires, her heartbroken loved ones revealed.
Shari Sanders, of Altadena, was found unconscious and unresponsive in the VIP section of Carson’s Anderson Memorial Park on Oct. 3 as temperatures soared into the triple digits.
A doctor at the festival performed CPR on Sanders for 20 minutes, but she could not be revived.
Sanders was reportedly saving seats for her family during a heat wave that brought triple digits to the area, when something tragically went wrong.
Now, her grieving family has revealed another cruel twist: Sanders had spent more than a year rebuilding her life after the Eaton Fire destroyed the home she had lived in for 35 years.
The January 2025 blaze, fueled by ferocious Santa Ana winds, tore through Altadena as the nearby Palisades Fire devastated swaths of Los Angeles, destroying thousands of homes.
Sanders had only recently returned to her rebuilt home when tragedy struck again.
“Her house was only recently finished, and she did not get to enjoy it for a month,” a message on GoFundMe read.
“Our family is devastated by this loss and is still trying to process what has happened.”
“Shari was the glue keeping this family together,” the message added, describing Sanders as a mother of three sons and grandmother of eight who also helped raise her nieces and nephews.
The circumstances surrounding her death have sparked outrage, with legendary percussionist Sheila E. blasting festival organizers and city officials for allowing performances to continue after Sanders died.
The musician, known as the “Queen of Percussions,” had performed at the event while Sanders’ body remained at the park.
“Production, whoever, the city, the mayor was there. All of you guys should have stopped the festival,” she said in an emotional Instagram video. “I’m sorry. You should have stopped the festival.”
“Carson, you guys have to do better. This was horrible. Horrible. And I’m so sorry that I played because I would not have gotten onstage knowing that she was still there.”
Sheila E. said she had been told someone had died before she took the stage but did not realize the woman’s body was still at the venue while the show went on.
The performer said she believed “everything was taken care of” and even offered a blessing for Sanders during her performance.
But she also raised concerns about the festival’s preparations for the brutal heat.
“The devastating part is she passed away, and we heard that … there was only one water station, which was unfortunate because there was just not enough water for everyone,” she said.
Sanders’ family told KTLA they believe her death was heat-related and said she had no prior medical history.
Her body was covered until it could be picked up at 5 p.m. — roughly half an hour after Sheila E. finished performing.
A city spokesperson told the outlet that officials were reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death and cooperating with the appropriate authorities.
The cause of Sanders’ death remains under investigation.
