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Country singer Josh Turner's road crew involved in bus crash, leaving 1 dead and several injured

Posted at 10:41 AM, Sep 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-19 10:42:11-04

A man is dead following a tour bus crash near Shandon, California, Wednesday night, California Highway Patrol says.

CHP has ruled out drugs or alcohol as being a cause of the crash. They say the tour bus left Josh Turner's concert at Vina Robles Amphitheatre and, for unknown reasons, the driver left the road and drove 20 yards through vegetation until he hit the riverbed.

First responders say the bus launched off an 80-foot cliff and impacted the sand. As a result of the impact, numerous passengers suffered major injuries.

Two passengers were ejected and one of them died. Emergency crews say the driver was extracted and transported to Cottage Hospital in Fresno by air.

The tour bus was en route to Washington State.

According to a truck driver who witnessed the crash, the bus was traveling about 60-65 mph. The speed limit in that area is 55 mph.

The bus following says they saw no brake lights when the bus left the road. CHP says they will be impounding the vehicle to see if there are any mechanical issues.

CHP is also looking into whether medical issues were a factor. They say the driver's age is unknown, but likely in his 50s.

Overall, CHP says there were eight to nine passengers on board including the driver and all injuries were significant.

Turner, a country and gospel singer, nor any of the musicians were involved in the crash.

Crews will remain on scene throughout the day in order to pull the bus out of the embankment.

This story was originally published by Ashton McIntyre on KSBY.