We’ve written about the hazards of touring before, and bands from Metallica to Baroness have been involved in awful bus accidents. Yesterday turned out to be an unfortunate day for traveling bands as both Hinder and The Ghost Inside were involved in accidents while touring. The Ghost Inside’s accident turned out much worse, sadly. Following a head-on collision outside of El Paso, both the band’s bus driver, Gregory Hoke, and the truck driver, Steven Cunningham were killed in the accident. In addition, The Ghost Inside’s drummer, Andrew Tkaczyk, guitarist Zach Johnson and singer Jonathan Vigil were airlifted out of the crash and are currently hospitalized in critical condition. A report from Tkaczyk’s brother says that Andrew suffered head trauma, broken bones in his lower extremities and a shoulder injury. There are two crew members listed as in critical condition. The band’s bassist and touring guitarist, Jim Riley and Chris Davis, respectively are in stable condition, as are three crew members. Here’s what the band said on their Facebook page:
Thanks to everyone who reached out with concern today. The Ghost Inside was involved in a serious bus accident outside El Paso, TX this morning. All 5 band members + all members of the crew are alive and currently being treated for their injuries. Please keep them in your thoughts as well as their bus driver and those in the other vehicle who did not make it. Unfortunately, all US shows on the Locals Only Tour are cancelled. Refunds available at point of purchase. We will update you more when we can.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the band. It plans on using the funds raised to help pay for funeral expenses for the band’s bus driver, who sadly leaves behind a child. It will also cover medical expenses for the hospitalized members and loss of equipment. Seeking $40,000, it’s already raised over $27,000 as of this writing, thanks in large part to Bring Me The Horizon, who ponied up $10k . They also stated that they’ll be donating a portion of their merch sales towards the campaign. You can do your part to help out the band in this most unfortunate of circumstances. Here’s a news report on the accident.
