Buckcherry guitarist Stevie Dacanay is speaking out about a deadly tour bus crash that involved the band in South Carolina in late August, revealing new details about the chaotic scene and the hours that followed.
The band was traveling by tour bus after a show when the crash unfolded in the early morning hours.
Dacanay said he had barely discussed the incident outside the band before opening up about what happened.
According to the guitarist, the bus was traveling over a hill when the group came upon a dangerous situation involving a man who had pulled his vehicle partly onto the shoulder and partly into the right lane.
Dacanay said the man, who he described as drunk, opened his car door and stepped into the roadway.
A vehicle traveling ahead of Buckcherry’s bus then struck the man, sending him into the left lane.
Moments later, the band’s bus came over the hill.
Dacanay said the bus struck the open car door, tearing it off. The door was then thrown into oncoming traffic, where it caused another pileup.
The band’s bus also struck the man after he had already been hit by the first vehicle, Dacanay said.
The nightmare did not end there.
According to Dacanay, another five or six vehicles came over the hill after the bus and became involved in an additional pileup behind them.
“It was quite a mess,” he recalled.
After the bus pulled over, one of the band’s drum technicians reportedly ran about a quarter-mile back down the highway to see what had happened.
The bus was so badly damaged that it could no longer be driven.
Dacanay said gasoline, diesel fuel, transmission fluid and brake fluid were spilled across the highway, forcing authorities to shut the road down.
One person died in the crash.
Buckcherry had previously confirmed that someone involved in the collision ahead of their bus had been killed and offered condolences following the tragedy.
Dacanay said the crash happened at around 2 a.m., but the band remained stranded on the highway until about 8 a.m. while authorities investigated and cleared the scene.
Neither Dacanay nor his Buckcherry bandmates were injured.
The guitarist also addressed media coverage of the wreck, saying he was frustrated by reports and online posts that appeared to make it seem as though someone connected to Buckcherry had died.
Dacanay said he saw numerous stories after the crash and felt some outlets had presented the incident in a way designed to attract clicks.
He said some of the headlines and reports gave the impression that a member of the band’s crew had been killed, which was not the case.
The guitarist also criticized podcasts and online videos that speculated about what happened.
One YouTube video even appeared in his own feed, prompting him to click on it.
Dacanay said the video contained footage of horrific crashes that had nothing to do with Buckcherry’s accident, mixed together with photos of the band.
He ultimately decided to stay out of the online discussion.
The guitarist described the entire ordeal as traumatic and said he was ready to move on from it.
“It’s over,” Dacanay said, adding that he hoped the man who died was now “in a better place.”