DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VA—
The family of the driver of one of Miley Cyrus' tour buses says Wiliam Douglas died of a heart attack while heading south on I-85 Friday morning. They told KEYE-TV in Austin, Tx, that they worried about the stress from the long hours he logged as a bus dirver.Earlier Friday Virginia State Police confirmed for CBS 6 that Douglas, 53, of Austin, Tx, was the sole fatality of the crash. They say he died at the scene.
Marty Zilio, 48, of Canada, was injured in the crash. Zilio is a member of Cyrus' production crew and was transported by ambulance to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg for treatment of minor injuries.
All lanes of the interstate reopened by early afternoon.
Troopers had been called out to the crash scene around 8:20 a.m. Friday. They say the crash occurred on I-85 south near mile marker 55 in Dinwiddie County, that's about 45-minutes south of Richmond, Virginia.
VSP says the bus was traveling southbound when it went off the left hand side of the roadway and went about 100 yards before it ended up on its right side. 10 people were on board the bus when it went off the road and overturned. Nine of them are members of the singer's production lighting crew and many of them were asleep at the time of the crash. They exited the wreckage through the front windshield.
The singer was not on board the wrecked bus. State police tell CBS 6 Cyrus was nowhere near the accident scene, though they cannot say for sure where the singer was at the time of the accident.
VSP says the roads were wet from heavy rain Thursday night, but they are not blaming the weather for the crash. Traffic on I-85 was tied up for more than two hours.
VSP says the bus was heading to Greensboro, North Carolina where Miley Cyrus is scheduled to perform in concert on Sunday. The bus is owned by the Roberts Brothers Coach Co., and was hired for the tour.
State police would not confirm that Douglas died from a heart attack but say his health may have contributed to the crash which remains under investigation.
A publicist for Miley Cyrus released the following statement:
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill "Uncle Bill" Douglas. Members of our tour are like members of our family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in the midst of this tragedy. He will truly be missed."
- The Cyrus Family
