Cindy Chadwick of the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office says five of nine band members were treated for minor injuries in the Saturday morning accident. Chadwick said Trace, a native of nearby Webster Parish, drove to the scene after hearing about the accident where he picked up the four people on the bus who were not taken to the hospital, before going to the Caddo Memorial Hospital in Vivian to check on the injured band members.
According to the Shreveport Times band members, Greg Baker and Wayne Addleman received the most injuries.“The one hurt the worst was my bass player, Greg Baker. He was in the jump seat up front. He went through the windshield and was hanging over the front of the bus.” Amazingly, he was not believed to have broken any bones, suffering a dislocated shoulder, rotater cuff injury and cuts and bruises. “He’s all banged up.”
Adkins said his steel-guitar player, Wayne Addleman, “was just coming up front and he hit the divider in the middle of the bus. He cut his ear pretty bad and he’s bruised on one whole side of his body.”
Justin R. Maxey, 21, of Fouke, Ark., and Jeffrey R. Ferguson Jr., 36, of Texarkana, driver and passenger of a Ford F-250 truck,were killed when their vehicle crossed the center line and hit the bus head-on as it traveled south. The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Chadwick says a witness had seen the pickup truck weaving in traffic. The truck crossed the center line of U.S. Highway 71 and ran into the bus around 9:30 a.m.
Chadwick said five band members were treated for minor injuries in the Saturday morning accident. The bus was en route to Bossier City for a show at the CenturyTel Center. Adkins had already arrived at the venue when he heard the news, according to his Web site.
"This is a real tragedy," Adkins said in a statement. "Two people have been killed and I don't even know their names. So out of respect for their families, I prefer not to comment too much at this time."
Adkins said he would perform a scaled-down acoustic set at Saturday's show, which also featured singer Martina McBride. He will sit out a show in Pensacola, Florida, on Sunday.
