The tour bus of the
popular, Toledo-based Christian rock band Sanctus Real burst into flames in Pennsylvania over the
weekend. Everyone got out safely, but the band lost just about everything on
board the bus.
Lead singer Matt Hammitt
stood on the road alongside his family, watching the flames consume the bus. It's
not often that his family travels with him, but they tagged along on this trip
because the band was playing at a Maryland
amusement park.
The tour bus is part of
the video for one of Sanctus Real's most popular songs, but it was engulfed in
flames along the Pennsylvania Turnpike just outside Pittsburgh early Sunday morning.
"We were all on the side of the road in our
bare feet with our phones, backpacks and clothes on the bus, and we watched it
all burn," says Matt.
The band was on the way
home from a show at Six Flags in Maryland.
Matt's wife, Sarah, and two daughters were sleeping in the back of the bus where
the fire started. Matt and the other band members were sleeping in a bunk area.
The engine stopped, and the
driver pulled over. There was a loud pop, and then the fire started.
"The only thing I was
shaken up about to the point of tears is that my family was sleeping back there
where it started, and, as I was sitting on the road watching it burn, I
couldn't believe I was so close to losing my kids and Sarah."
Some of Matt's
daughter's prized possessions were lost in the fire.
"The thing that made me
most sad was our little girl's blankets that they've had since they were babies
were both in there, and my one daughter had just graduated from kindergarten, and
she had her book with all her work from the year in there," says Matt.
The band doesn't have
much downtime after the fire. They head back out on the road this weekend for a
show in Georgia.
"I am a little weirded
out about getting back on a bus, but I have to do it if I want to work," says
Matt.
Thanks to the generosity
of another band, at least they'll be riding in style.
"The band Casting Crowns
offered us their bus for free," says Matt. "We have a lot of people reaching
out, which is really nice."
At this point, it's not
clear what sparked the fire. The band does have insurance, but it probably
won't cover everything.
Many people have reached
out asking how they can help. The band has set up a fund. Visit sanctusreal.com for
information about how you can help.
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