For those who haven’t heard, The Ghost Inside was involved in a fatal wreck last week. Their tour bus had a head on collision with an opposing semi-truck, killing both drivers and leaving one of the worst vehicular accidents in the recent history of music. In the wake of this, The Ghost Inside members were taken under medical care where three members, Jonathan Vigil, Andrew Tkaczykt and Zach Johnson, were declared to be in critical condition. In the wake of this, there has been incredible support by many fans and bands through a fundraiser.
We’ve been getting a number of updates from the bass player Jim Riley. However, the band as a whole just made an official statement in regards to these events and their road to recovery following them. You can read over this right here:
“Hi friends. I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. Through the grace of our incredible host hotels and the community here in El Paso we were able to enjoy a great meal and have a couple hours of much needed relief away from the hospital. Our families that are here aren’t used to being ‘on the road’ and although the circumstances couldn’t be less ideal, this holiday will always be a special one for us, a genuine day of giving thanks for the gift of life we have been given. And while we are grateful for this gift, our hearts are heavy for the families of Greg Hoke and Steven Cunningham who are mourning the loss of a husband, brother, son, and father. I can’t begin to imagine the loss they felt with an empty chair at their dinner table.
“I want to share a little bit more with you about how things are going here. The truth is, there are a lot of very serious injuries. We are dealing with badly broken legs and ankles, cracked pelvises, and fractured vertebrae that require screws, plates, rods, and careful surgery to repair. Over the last week most of these procedures have been completed very successfully, but there are still a couple more to go, and most of the guys are still in the hospital. It is yet another blessing that we are in a place with so many remarkable doctors and surgeons to make this possible.
It is going to be a long road for us to quite literally be back on our feet. We have many months of recovery, rehabilitation, and physical therapy ahead. For some of us, simply learning to walk again will be a monumental undertaking. For now, we must put all shows on hold and focus only on our health.
“As a band, we’ve always taken pride in our ability to make friends in the music industry. Across genres and stereotypes we have forged the most amazing bonds with other musicians, and with those that simply appreciate music. Never in a million years would we have imagined ourselves in this position where all those friends across the years and across the miles would have come to our side before we even had the chance to ask for help. I’m a man of many words and I frankly cannot find them to describe how your collective generosity has kept our spirits afloat for the last ten days. There are far too many people to thank right now, and no contribution, whether thoughts, prayers, socks, shirts, $5 or $5000 has gone unnoticed. I hope that in due time we can truly show you our gratitude. In the meantime there have been a few heroes here that need to be named. Ryan Bingham, Stacey Cornett, Andrew Barquero, and Tim Irons have been our hands and feet. They have done everything that we cannot, including looking after our families. Our team behind the scenes, John Youngman, Mark Mercado, Dave Shapiro, and everyone at Epitaph records, has made sure that everyone that needs to be here, is here, and that their essential needs are taken care of. Chelsea Coffey at Hilton and the staff of the Hampton Inn and Courtyard Marriott, as well as the city of El Paso, have accommodated our families and made them feel as close to home as possible during this impossibly difficult time. Delta Airlines has graciously helped with our travel to and from all corners and coasts of the country. And also a man that rarely gets the credit he deserves, Kevin Lyman, has put his countless resources into play to ease the burdens upon us and our loved ones.
“Now, more than ever, The Ghost Inside is not just 5 guys on stage, but everyone across the planet that has shared a moment with us, however large or small. Thank you for standing with us when we cannot stand on our own.”
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