REO Speedwagon’s original frontman Terry Luttrell injured in car accident following band reunion

REO Speedwagon’s original frontman Terry Luttrell is recuperating in the hospital after wrecking his car on the way home from an REO Speedwagon reunion event Saturday in the band’s hometown of Champaign, Illinois.

Luttrell tells The News-Gazette that he fell asleep at the wheel after getting little sleep following the band’s performance at the State Farm Center.

“It just happened,” Luttrell said. “I nodded off. I rolled the car over, and I woke up and I was in a cocoon (the airbags). Unfortunately it totaled the car.”

“I was able to get up and get out of the car,” he added. “The airbag went off and cracked my sternum a little bit. I have a little back pain and neck pain. It’s nothing that can’t be overcome.”

Luttrell is currently recuperating at Carle Foundation Hospital, and is expected to spend a few days there.

The REO Speedwagon event, Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon – A Concert Event – Back Where it All Began, featured Luttrell, REO Speedwagon members Bruce Hall and Neal Doughty and others. One person who was not there was REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin, who was in Bend, Oregon, performing on his tour with Styx.

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