Tour Bus Driver Killed in Crash, Miley Cyrus 'Deeply Saddened'

Fri, 20 November 2009 21:44:46 ET

On Friday afternoon, November 20, the teenage singing sensation and her family issued a statement in respect to Bill Douglas, the driver who died in an accident while driving one of her tour buses.

Miley Cyrus has lost a member of her tour entourage in an early morning accident in Virginia when one of her tour buses crashed and killed the bus driver. Soon thereafter, the teen songstress and her family released a statement offering heartfelt support and prayers for the deceased driver Bill Douglas.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bill 'Uncle Bill' Douglas," the statement posted on her official site on Friday afternoon, November 20, read. It continued further, "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."

Earlier, reports were coming out that on Friday morning, a tour bus carrying Miley's concert production crew was involved in a deadly crash in Virginia. It was reported that the bus overturned around 8:15 A.M. on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie, about 40 miles south of Richmond. The driver of the bus died at the scene, while nine other passengers sustained injuries.

Miley fortunately was not on board the ill-fated bus. To TMZ, the manager of the 16-year-old songstress confirmed, "It was one of our tour buses, but not Miley's. It was one of our buses that transported our lighting crew." As for the Disney's star whereabout when the accident occurred, it was said that she was en route to Nashville to spend some time at home before her next concert.

While investigation is underway to determine why the vehicle went off the road and flipped over, TMZ got the scoop that "there were no obvious signs that alcohol played a factor in the crash" and that Douglas suffered cardiac arrest. The site also obtained three 911 calls which were made after the tour bus crashed.

On Sunday, November 22, Miley Cyrus is scheduled to perform in Greensboro, North Carolina. The show which will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex is set to go on as scheduled, as TMZ cited an employee for the venue.

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