As the extreme metal community and beyond continue to mourn yesterday’s fatal van crash, it’s come out that the other two that died in the accident were members of Wormreich. Ian A. McKinney, 30 of Madison, TN and Paul J. Truesdell, 29, of Mableton, GA, were members of the band that died. Nicholas R. Crisostomo, 25, of Round Hill Virginia, was the drummer of Khaotika and was also killed in the early morning van accident. Wormreich’s Christopher Earl Pyle (or Vulk) made a statement on his Facebook page last night:
“This morning I lost my brother and best friend, along with two awesome people that I was lucky to have even known for a short while. Two of my other brothers remain in critical condition. Somehow I was spared with only superficial wounds and a dislocated shoulder. This is not the end of Wormreich. It’s always been my vision, but more importantly, it is for those whom I have lost today that it MUST continue. Please send healing energy to the members of Wormreich, Khaotika and their families. Ave.”
Wormreich’s label Moribund Records also released a statement:
“It is with heavy hearts that the staff of Moribund Records confirms that two members of Moribund recording artists Wormreich have been killed in a van crash early this morning while on tour, and one member remains in critical condition. Wormreich were in the midst of a North American tour with comrades Kult ov Azazel and Khaotika, driving southbound along I-85 in northeast Georgia when the driver of the 15-passenger van apparently fell asleep and the van veered off the highway, striking a tree on the passenger side. In the wreck, Wormreich guitarist Ian Andrew McKinney (AKA Nazgul Vathran) and bassist Paul Truesdell were killed, while drummer Christopher P. Pezzano (AKA Profana) was seriously injured and remains in critical condition, requiring surgery.”
Meanwhile, the GoFundMe page that had been set up for the families and victims of the accident has been taken down. “Someone in contact with the band has asked for this gofundme and for the benefit concert to be taken down for now,'” the post reads. The are asking for privacy. Thank you everyone for your donations – I am talking with gofundme right now about refunding everything.” It’s not clear how much the effort had raised before the plug was pulled, but over 2,800 people shared it on Facebook.
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