Tragedy Hits Oak Ridge Boys

The Oak Ridge Boys have been a favorite group of mine since long before they became country music superstars. I have a lot of their gospel recordings from the 60's and early 70's before they made the jump to country.  The live album they recorded at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville in the early 70's is still one of my favorite quartet live recordings.

Their bass singer, Richard Sterban, who joined the group after spending some time backing Elvis as a member of The Stamps Quartet, lost his grandson in a tragic accident:

The grandson of Oak Ridge Boys bass singer Richard Sterban has died from injuries sustained in a car crash after the first full day of school.

Beech High School student Zachary Sterban, 15, died Friday, one week after the car he was riding in hit another vehicle on Long Hollow Pike. A front-seat passenger, Damon Dunn Jr., 17, also a Beech High student, died at the scene.

Zachary’s brother Matthew Sterban, 17, was driving the car and was also injured, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The state trooper reported that none of the boys were wearing seat belts.

Zachary Sterban had been in critical condition at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt since the Aug. 6 wreck.

The 1993 Toyota the boys were in crossed the centerline after it began to slide sideways in a curve. It collided head-on with a 2006 Nissan driven by Jennifer Willingham, 37, near Bland Pass, according to the THP report.

Prayers go out to the Richard and The Oaks.