REO Speedwagon singer crashes car after falling asleep at the wheel
REO Speedwagon singer Terry Luttrell was in a car crash on Sunday morning following a reunion concert in Champaign, Illinois, state police confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
The 78-year-old told The News-Gazette in Champaign that he fell asleep at the wheel and suffered a cracked sternum from his car's airbag when he crashed on Interstate 57.
"I was able to get up and get out of the car," Luttrell told the newspaper by phone from his hospital room, adding that he expected he would be hospitalized for a few more days doing rehabilitation. "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."
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Luttrell told the newspaper that he had stayed at the concert's after party until 2 a.m. signing autographs, and hadn't slept much when he headed out for St. Louis on business.
"It was just sign-sign-sign," he said. "I had people with Starcastle albums and REO albums. People were really friendly. You’ve got to [do it]."
The singer and Champaign native said that while he felt a "little bit sleepy" after only a few hours of shuteye, he didn't think it would be a problem.
"It just happened," he said. "I nodded off. I rolled the car over, and I woke up, and I was in a cocoon (the airbags). Unfortunately, it totaled the car."
He added that some of his nurses were even at the concert.
And despite his injuries, Luttrell said he's happy he performed at the farewell concert, which he said was "was a good show all the way around."
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"You never know what it’s going to be like," he added. "Everybody (in the band) was excited. It was just a fun evening. It was exactly what we thought it was going to be. It was a one-off concert that will never happen again."
Late last year, the band said they planned to stop touring as of January because of "irreconcilable differences."
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Luttrell joined the band soon after it formed in Champaign at the University of Illinois in 1967 and left in 1972. He was replaced by Kevin Cronin. He returned to front the band for one time on Saturday night.
"To say that you were there was a pretty big thing," Luttrell added.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to REO Speedwagon for comment.
Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang contributed to this report