BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA – Six young musicians were injured while promoting their first EP on Sunday. The band, called A City Serene, was in their tour bus just south of Bakersfield when they were hit by a truck. All six members of the band were traveling north in a church bus that had been converted into their tour bus around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. They were about one and a half miles south of the I-5 Grapevine when a driver in a Ford pickup heading south lost control on a curve in the road. The truck drove off the road and hit a dirt berm that propelled the truck into the air.
The truck went about 100 feet in the air and over the center divide. The pickup first hit a Honda Civic and then broadsided the bus, causing the bus to roll. The bus was subsequently hit by another Honda Civic. All six band members inside the bus were airlifted to area hospitals. They were identified as Xander Bourgeois 20, Carly Baker, 19, Kris Renfro, 19, Michael Sherman, 22, Marc Koch, 20 and Mike Buxbaum, 20. All members are from Vista, Clairemont, and MissionValley. The truck driver, 37-year-old Troy Jonathan Martinez of Caliente was also hospitalized. Two of the band members are in critical condition, three are in serious but stable condition and the sixth is expected to be released soon.
The band had just embarked on its first tour on September 10 and had played in Upland for the second of its 17 scheduled shows just prior to the accident. The band was on its way to San Jose and was scheduled to play in Washington and four other states before returning to San Diego on October 3. The band was scheduled to play at Soma upon its return to San Diego. That concert will now instead be a benefit for the band. A portion of the proceeds will go to the band members and their families who will now be facing huge expenses. Additional donations can be made at myspace.com/acityserene.
Amazingly, the lawyers at Berman & Riedel, LLP were recently called upon to handle a case just like this, when a small van carrying 9 passengers from a church group were traveling up to Northern California from San Diego to attend the wedding of a fellow church member. The accident similarly happened on the I-5 Grapevine, when the van was rear-end by a big rig truck that crossed into the emergency lane where the van was parked, striking the van from behind, and sending the van off the side of the freeway. Several of the passengers were seriously injured, two in fact having to be life-flighted to the hospital for emergency medical care.
In that case, the attorneys at Berman & Riedel, LLP represented the most seriously injured passenger, a young woman who unfortunately sustained a most serious closed head injury. Given the firms experience in having handled numerous significant trucking cases involving serious injuries, brain injuries and even wrongful death, and thus armed with a vast knowledge and understand of the regulations that control the commercial trucking industry, the firm was able to achieve a most significant settlement for the young injured woman. The settlement received will help her pay for future medical care and her inability to work in the future.
Tragic accidents of this nature can change the lives of victims and their families. Our hearts go out to all the band members and their loved ones on their road to recovery. If you have been injured in an accident of this or a similar nature, you may wish you consult with a personal injury attorney to discuss your options for legal recovery. More information about personal injury law can also be found at the personal injury page. In addition, the attorneys and professional staff at Berman & Riedel, LLP offer years of experience in personal injury law. Contact the firm to speak with a qualified legal professional.
