Rising Texas Country Star Cameran Nelson Opens Up About Deadly Bus Accident
On July 3, rising Texas country artist Cameran Nelson and his band were involved in a deadly accident while on their way to a Fourth of July concert. On Sunday (July 9), the singer shared more details about the accident, in which the driver of the other vehicle was killed, and thanked fans for their prayers and support following the incident.
Nelson first informed fans of the fatal crash by sharing photos from the accident scene and calling it "one of the scariest days of my life." According to a GoFundMe page set up to help the band replace their equipment and trailer, both of which were destroyed in the accident, Nelson and his band were traveling to Del Rio, Texas, when their tour bus was hit by another car; the bus swerved into a ditch, and the trailer broke away from the vehicle. Fortunately, no one in Nelson's camp was hurt.
"As many miles as we travel, this is a nightmare that you never want to come true or witness. We are all shaken up," Nelson wrote on the 3rd. "I just want to go home, hug my family, and try to calm down. Everyone's thoughts and prayers should be with the man that passed away."
In his Sunday Facebook post, Nelson writes that "it's been a terrible week," but hearing fans' and friends' words of support has helped. In light of the incident garnering national attention, the singer also attempted to "clear a few things up."
Nelson was the one at the wheel of his crew's tour bus when he spotted an oncoming car drifting toward the middle yellow line on the road. The artist began honking his vehicle's horn to alert the driver, but the car continued to drift into Nelson's lane; Nelson "hit the [brakes] and aimed the bus for the ditch," hoping to avoid a bigger crash, but the car hit the driver's side rear axle.
"As the car passed my window, I could see that the driver was slumped over and appeared to be asleep," Nelson recalls. "As soon as I got the bus stopped, I yelled back to my crew and made sure I heard all of their voices. I immediately ran straight to the car to check on the other driver, but it was clear that he had already passed."
Two of Nelson's band members were thrown out of their bunks because of the crash.
"Thankfully, none of us were badly injured and we refused any medical attention," Nelson notes, "although the images of this incident will probably be with me forever."
The first car that came by helped Nelson call 9-1-1; when emergency personnel arrived, "they looked in the car and told us to wait in the bus until EMS got there."
"We waited on the bus until a state trooper knocked on the door. He came up and told us that they found several weapons, some stolen, a pistol with a suppressor in his lap, ammunition, what appeared to be stolen credit cards, drug paraphernalia, and a flask of Crown laying on the ground next to the car," Nelson shares. "He wouldn't give us any specifics on his name or where he was from. At that point, they hadn't been able to positively ID him."
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Nelson and his band were later allowed to go through "what was left of the[ir] trailer" to salvage what they could, but they lost quite a bit of gear: "our monitor world with all of our wireless systems ... light racks, drum hardware, cases ... merch." Filing insurance claims will be a lengthy process, and what the band receives may not cover the cost of replacing everything that was lost, which is why Nelson's former tour manager asked to set up the GoFundMe for the musician and his band.
Nelson says that, since the accident, he and his crew have been struggling with the fact that they've been asked by law enforcement officials "not to respond to any family [of the other driver] that might reach out nor should I try and reach out myself." The band doesn't know his name, and a state trooper told Nelson that the accident would involve "a lengthy investigation."
"I'm not sure what this guy was into, but he left a family behind, and we can't contact them," Nelson writes. "So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We are grateful we can dust ourselves off and continue on."
Nelson has shared the stage with high-profile artists such as Lee Brice, Dustin Lynch, the Randy Rogers Band, Jack Ingram, Kevin Fowler and Aaron Watson, among others. He last released an album, Good Thing Going, in late 2015.
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