Members of the country band LANCO are counting their blessings after a frightening overnight incident that left their tour bus destroyed.
Billboard reported that the group had just wrapped up a performance in Des Moines on Sunday night when severe winter weather disrupted their travel plans.
All About the Scary Night
While heading toward Nashville in the early hours of Monday, March 16, the band was forced to pull over around 4 a.m. due to dangerous blizzard conditions along the route.
Rather than risk continuing through the storm, the band decided to spend the night at a nearby hotel.
However, the harsh weather created additional complications. Because of the snowstorm, towing services in the area had temporarily stopped operating.
Per Billboard, local authorities from Pella stepped in to help, transporting members of LANCO, their crew and opening acts to nearby hotels so they could safely wait out the storm.
While most of the group left the vehicle, the tour bus driver remained behind.
Early Monday morning, the driver reportedly woke up to find the bus on fire.
Fortunately, he was able to escape with only minor injuries before the flames spread through the vehicle.
Although the band’s equipment trailer survived the incident, the bus itself was completely destroyed, and several instruments were lost in the blaze.
The Band Speaks Out
LANCO frontman Brandon Lancaster later addressed the frightening experience in a statement with Billboard.
“It’s been a surreal 18 hours honestly, and we are so thankful that everyone on board is safe and sound,” Lancaster said. “It was a very scary situation and I can’t imagine what would have happened if we all decided to sleep on the bus. I know God was watching over us.”
The singer also shared more details with fans in a video posted to the band’s Instagram page, along with photos showing the aftermath of the fire and the charred remains of the vehicle.
“We got stuck in a really nasty blizzard,” Lancaster explained. “We found ourselves in a situation where we were trying to debate whether to stay on the bus and just ride it out until maybe a tow truck could help get us out of the conditions or to just get out of there.”
Ultimately, the decision to leave the bus may have prevented a far more dangerous situation.
“When we were at the hotel, we found out not long after that our bus was engulfed in flames,” he said. “Had we elected to stay on the bus, there would’ve been 12 of us in the middle of that trying to escape. It would’ve been very traumatic if anything and potentially life-threatening.”
