GoFundMe Established for Josh Turner Crew Members Involved in Bus Crash
Josh Turner's management company has established a GoFundMe to help the crew members who were involved in a tour bus crash on Sept. 18 while traveling between shows. Seven people were injured, and one person died, in the accident.
"Many of you have asked where you can support the guys and their families," Turner writes on Facebook, sharing the link to the GoFundMe set up by Modern Management. As of publication time, more than $2,500 of a $100,000 goal has been raised.
"Your prayers have been felt," Turner adds. "Please keep praying."
The tour bus that crashed late on the night of Sept. 18 in Shandon, Calif., was carrying 26-year-old Carl Hardin, 26-year-old Justin Lambert, 39-year-old Bradley Dratnol, 56-year-old Richard Lazarus, 59-year-old John Dauphniee, 59-year-old Jed Downing, 64-year-old David Turner (no relation to his tour boss) and 66-year-old James Mayo. Turner, who had been working with Josh Turner since early 2006 and had been in the music business for four decades, died in the crash; the other seven men "suffered significant injuries," Josh Turner says, "and many have long roads to recovery."
"As I try to write this I don’t know what to say," Turner says in his Facebook post. "It’s a struggle to put into words the devastation and grief that our road family is trying to process."
The tour bus crash occurred after Turner's Wednesday night concert in Paso Robles, Calif., on Highway 46 near McMillan Canyon Road. The bus, which was being driven by Dratnol and was part of a caravan of buses that included one carrying Turner, drove off the road and through 20 yards of vegetation, then went down an 80-foot cliff, hitting the sand of a dry riverbed below. The front end of the bus sustained major damage, and a trailer that was being towed by the bus flipped on top of the bus.
An eyewitness to the crash reports that the tour bus was traveling approximately 60-65 miles per hour at the time of the accident, in an area in which the speed limit is 55 miles per hour; someone on a bus following the bus that crashed says they did not see brake lights go on when the bus left the road. California Highway Patrol officials are working to determine what caused the crash, but have ruled out drugs or alcohol as a cause; they are also exploring the possibility of mechanical issues, and have impounded the vehicle. Charges will likely be filed because of the death and injuries.
Turner has postponed all of his remaining September shows. According to a representative, they will be rescheduled for a later date.
Country Music's Scariest Bus Accidents