Reggie Austin, the rapper who also known as Travis Scott, confirmed on Sunday to radio host Charlamagne tha God that he had not made contact with the person whose Astroworld tour bus took two deadly turns in Los Angeles this week, damaging the tour bus’ roof and injuring the rider on-board.
“Me personally, I’m good. My family is good. Just praying for that guy,” Travis Scott said in an interview with Charlamagne on “The Breakfast Club.”
Dr. Ken Norman, a trauma surgeon at UCLA’s medical center, told The Washington Post that the front three doors to the bus should be closed when a driver is on the road, based on the company’s website, but his team was working to confirm whether the driver was inside at the time of the accident.
Austin, who according to TMZ was on tour with Scott’s tour bus and was believed to be a passenger, was said to be sent to a Los Angeles hospital with serious injuries. According to TMZ, the man was singing a Celine Dion song when the bus left the highway and crashed head-on into a Toyota and a Ford sedan. The Ford then spun around and went into the next lane and the bus took another sharp left, mounted the curb and plowed into a pole and light pole, before finally coming to a rest after crashing into a neighboring building.
The injured rider has been identified as Jackson Fredrick, a 34-year-old rapper from Culver City, Calif. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has confirmed that Fredrick died at the scene of the crash.
TMZ first reported the crash early Saturday morning, and later said Austin, who was taken to the hospital, has since been released and released from the hospital.
“I was at the hospital with him and everything looked good,” Austin said of Fredrick in the radio interview. “It’s hard to imagine, and of course, all I want to do is pray for the guy that lost his life, but I’m good.”
TMZ also reported that Fredrick had been asleep when the accident happened, but Scott did not address that in the interview.
“I haven’t talked to him,” Scott said. “I’ve never met him. I think he was watching the show. I’m sorry, man.”
After being released from the hospital, Austin tweeted that he was doing “OK” and just needed rest. The artist credited a friend, whom he declined to name, with carrying him to the hospital, after which a “really nice doctor” took him to the emergency room to check on his health.
An ambulance also arrived on the scene, to check on Austin, but according to an eyewitness, Austin had already been taken into the building by the time they arrived. “The emergency personnel only talked to him. They didn’t check his pulse or anything,” said Victoria Walker, who was passing by the crash scene.
According to Katherine Alvarado, who lives near the building where the crash happened, the the building at 24th Street and Figueroa Avenue has seven stories. She said she heard what sounded like a crash at around 3 a.m. and saw that the building had been evacuated. “It was such a startling thing. We knew something was going on,” she said.
Scott, who released his latest album, Astroworld, in August, also spoke about his plans for additional tour dates this fall. “We’re going to continue on with the tour, making sure that people take care of one another, and make sure we have good music,” he said.
The-CNN-Wire
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