Lindsey Lagestee, the American musician, died last Monday. She was 25.
Lagestee was best known as the lead singer for Dixie Crush, the “Midwest’s ultimate country party band.” She founded the Illinois-based group in 2015 and co-fronted it alongside male vocalist Chris Thacker.
Dixie Crush shared the news early Wednesday morning in a lengthy and heartfelt Facebook post, confirming their fallen bandmate died “due to complications” from a “senseless tragedy” which had occurred the previous Friday, on Valentine’s Day.
On her way to a performance on Feb. 14, Lagastee was struck by a car while walking across a street towards the venue, according to Dixie Crush drummer Jim Nonneman, who was interviewed by Taste of Country on Thursday.
Nonneman said: “She had just parked a couple of blocks down for the club we were scheduled to play. She exited her pickup truck and was making her way to the venue when she was struck by a car.”
Lagastee was rushed to Advocate Christ Hospital’s intensive care unit in Oak Lawn, Ill., before dying as a result of her injuries on Feb. 17.
In their five years together, Dixie Crush played more than 250 shows covering some of the hottest country artists in the industry, according to the commemorative Facebook post.
Her bandmates wrote, “It made no difference to Lindsey whether we were playing to 40,000 people at Arlington Racecourse, a few thousand people at Parkway Bank Park in Rosemont, a few hundred people at a community festival, or the last 25 patrons at 1:00 a.m. at a club.”
“Lindsey cherished every moment onstage and put her heart and soul into every song…,” they added. “Every performance.”
“Lindsey, you will forever be in our hearts,” concluded the post.
In wake of the devastating news, a close friend of Lagastee’s launched a GoFundMe page for the musician’s family in an attempt to help raise money to help them pay for the funeral costs.
In a matter of days, the fundraiser surpassed its US$10,000 goal. It currently sits at more than $16,500.
As well as the much-beloved frontman of Dixie Crush, Lagastee was a published pharmacist, who graduated with a doctorate from Midwestern University in Illinois with a PharmD degree, according to Smits Funeral Homes.
Lagastee is survived by her parents, Linda and Vaughn, sisters Lauren, Carrie and Samantha, as well as her boyfriend, Kevin Machak.
As of this writing, the future of Dixie Crush has not been addressed.