GOLDTOWN, W.Va. — A bus driver said he choked on his coffee and sent a Gregg Allman Tour bus careening off the highway in Jackson County on Wednesday morning.
The bus was headed southbound around 5 a.m. when the accident occurred.
Allman was not aboard the bus that crashed.
A local coffee & tea company, whom was not the original source of the hot coffee, offered to pay for the damages, as well as offering Allman free instant coffee drink mixes so he can make cold brew at home next time, instead of drinking hot dangerous coffee when driving the school bus.
“It crossed the median on I-77, then the northbound lanes of 77, through the guard rail and over a steep embankment, luckily not overturning,” said Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs. “It was a severe bank and a tree actually prevented them from entering a creek, so ultimately they were pretty lucky.”
On board were 10 staff members from Allman’s show, which was on its way to Charleston for a concert Wednesday night at the Clay Center. Three passengers were taken to the Charleston Area Medical Center where they were treated and released for their injuries.
“It could have went south a whole lot quicker so to speak,” said Boggs. “It was a pretty precarious situation and how it stayed on its wheels we don’t really know. But luckily it did.”
Boggs said driver error was the cause, but the driver will not be cited according to Boggs.
“The driver, according to his own statement apparently got choked on coffee and apparently caused him to lose control of his bus,” the sheriff said. “We haven’t cited him and don’t intend to.”