Country Stars and Traffic Fatals
A number of country stars have had their lives altered by family members in fatal traffic accidents. Here's a look at a few.
- 1
Blake Shelton
In 1990, Blake Shelton, then age 14, lost his half-brother, age 24, in a fatal accident. Blake and older brother Richie had the same mother. In 2012, Blake and then-wife Miranda Lambert won a CMA for the song "Over You," which was about Blake's brother.
- 2
George Strait
George was still early in his career when he lost his daughter Jennifer in a car accident in 1986. She was a passenger in a car with three others that flipped. None of the occupants was wearing a seat belt. Jennifer was partially ejected.
- 3
Luke Bryan
Perhaps the most known of country stars to have lost family members in traffic accidents is Luke Bryan. Luke lost his older brother, Chris, in 1996. The accident occured just days before Luke was planning to move to Nashville. He decided to remain at home but later at the urging of his father, he made the trip to Nashville where he launched his career.
- 4
Toby Keith
In 2001, Toby Keith's father, Hubert Covel's pickup was hit by a car and then struck by a charter bus. The Covel family was awarded wrongful death damages as the bus driver did not have a commercial driver's license and the bus was in dire need of brakes.
- 5
Brantley Gilbert
As far as I know, Brantley hasn't lost a family member in a traffic accident. However, Brantley himself came close to dying in a wreck. At age 19, he climbed into his pickup after drinking. Gilbert flipped the truck several times, hit a tree and he was ejected through the back window. Miraculously he landed on his feet. A very, very close call indeed.