Rock singer and REO Speedwagon legend Terry Luttrell survived a car crash after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel.
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The crash occurred on June 15, just one day after REO Speedwagon performed a farewell show at the State Farm Center in Illinois, where current and former members of the band reunited, according to The News-Gazette.
“I was able to get up and get out of the car,” Luttrell recalled to the outlet. “The airbag went off and cracked my sternum a little bit.”
“I have a little back pain and neck pain. It’s nothing that can’t be overcome,” he added.
After the show, Luttrell told The News-Gazette he was heading to St. Louis for business and hadn’t gotten much sleep before driving. He also mentioned spending a lot of time signing autographs for fans. “It was just sign-sign-sign,” the 78 year old detailed.
After signing autographs for fans until 2 a.m., Luttrell went to bed at 4:30 a.m. and hit the road again just a few hours later.
He felt a bit sleepy while driving, but didn’t think it was a big deal.
“It just happened,” Luttrell told The News-Gazette. “I nodded off. I rolled the car over, and I woke up, and I was in a cocoon [the airbags].”
The Starcastle singer stated that his car was completely “totaled.”
Luttrell was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, following the crash.
Daughter of Terry Luttrell Sets Up Fundraiser for Rock Singer Following Car Accident
Meanwhile, Luttrell’s daughter, Kristin, has set up a GoFundMe to support the rock singer’s recovery.
“He’s stable and alert, but has some internal damage that’s going to need more long-term care to get back to his usual self,” Kristin detailed on the fundraiser page. “Being 78 and receiving these injuries can be difficult to bounce back from. He will need more care and time than someone younger would. Along with his ER visit and hospital stay, he’s going to require at least a couple of weeks of in-patient rehab for the fractures in his back, neck, and sternum. He also sustained damage to his brain and heart that need to be monitored.”
“These funds will go to help him pay any outstanding medical bills he may have outside of insurance,” she continued. “With him at the hospital in Illinois, there will be out-of-network costs since his home territory is Tennessee. We already know this care is going to leave him with a hefty bill. Also, this will be used to help him with any follow-up care he may need when he gets back home to TN.”
As of this writing, the GoFundMe has raised just over $5,500 of a $7,000 goal.