Boston rock standard bearers Dropkick Murphys have been forced to cancel a date in Oklahoma after the group's tour bus struck a man dashing into the street. The pedestrian was killed and law enforcement suspects that it was a suicide attempt. Still, the band was in no mood to find other transportation to complete its show in Tulsa, OK on Sunday night, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"We were left with a driver that has been severely shaken up by the accident and a bus too damaged to continue onto Tulsa," the band said in a statement on Facebook. "Police suspect a suicide."
The group had played a gig in San Antonio on Saturday night and was driving north toward Oklahoma when the man dashed out in front of the vehicle. The bus was a little north of Austin at the time of the accident and the darkness at 3 a.m. didn't help any chance of the driver noticing the man's approach or ability to avoid him.
The group ensured fans that all tickets would be refunded but, as a an extra sign of good faith to their fans in Tulsa, the openers on the tour—Blood Or Whiskey—plus Bryan McPherson played a free show at a bar around the corner from the original venue. Those bands had been traveling separately from the Dropkcik Murphys as the headliners needed to swing by Dallas to drop off vocalist Al Barr at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as he was traveling home for a funeral.
There's no indication that the band's next show, a Wednesday night gig in Mexico City, will not go on.
