Tour bus kills Ohio man near Bonnaroo

A man killed when he was hit by a tour bus carrying bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs after a performance at the Bonnaroo music festival has been identified.

Joshua Overall, 21 of Hamilton, Ohio, was hit by the bus as it traveled south on Interstate 24 at 7:50 p.m. about a mile from the exit for the festival, said Melissa McDonald, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Safety.

“The young man just walked out into traffic,” she said. “There was no fault on the part of the bus driver. It was unavoidable.”

The bus was estimated to be traveling around 55 mph before the accident. No charges will be filed against the driver, McDonald said.

There was no indication of alcohol use by Overall or the driver. Drug tests will be done on Overall’s blood, McDonald said.

Overall was wearing a Bonnaroo admission armband when he was killed, although authorities have not found anyone at the music festival he was traveling with, McDonald said. It appeared he had jumped over a fence to reach the highway from the direction where the festival was being held, she said.

Ashley Capps, president and event producer of A.C. Entertainment, said he was stunned.

“We’ll certainly be cooperating with the THP,” he told The Tennessean. “The safety of our patrons is our number one concern, and we’re deeply saddened when something like this happens … that seems like an extraordinary bit of bad luck for whoever was driving down the interstate.”

Carrie Anne, a 25-year-old Skaggs fan from Portland, Maine, said she was disappointed to hear of the death, but felt “there are worse ways to go than to be hit by Ricky Skaggs’ tour bus.”

The Bonnaroo festival is in its fifth year. At last year’s festival, a 32-year-old man was found dead in his tent. Witnesses said he suffered from sleep apnea, but authorities said there were indications of unspecified drugs in his system.

In 2004, two people, ages 22 and 20, died from drug overdoses confirmed by state autopsies.