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HARDY is recounting the traumatic tour bus accident that nearly took his life.
During Wednesday’s episode of the “Nashville Now” podcast, the country singer and songwriter, 35, opened up about the terrifying ordeal that landed him in the hospital and impacted his mental health moving forward.
“I was in a tour bus accident a couple of years ago, and I think just since then, [death] has just been really on the back of my mind,” said HARDY, who recently released his album “Country! Country!”
HARDY, MORGAN WALLEN’S SONGWRITER, INJURED IN TOUR BUS CRASH
HARDY, the country singer and songwriter, details the traumatic aftermath from his near-fatal tour bus crash in 2022. (Omar Vega/WireImage)
“Don’t think that it can’t happen whenever, because it very much can … Live your life because we’re going to die,” he continued. “And I just think that’s a head space I’ve lived in for the last couple of years because I was, in a moment, it’s the only moment I’ve ever had where I thought I was dead.”
In 2022, HARDY — whose full name is Michael Wilson Hardy — and three other members of his team were involved in a near-fatal tour bus accident just outside of Nashville.
During the podcast interview, HARDY recalled something being “off” with his bus driver after they made a quick pit stop on the side of the road.
“I said, ‘You good?’ And he said, ‘Yep,’ and I said, ‘How much longer do we have?’ And he said, ‘Yep,’” HARDY said. “We got about two more miles down the road, and he had either an aneurysm or seizure while driving and we barreled off the side of the road. The bus flipped over three times.”
HARDY has written songs for Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line and Chris Lane. (Terry Wyatt)
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“It went from being a bus to a movie set, like a bomb went off,” he continued. “I crawled out of the front windshield, which was busted open… The bus had gone so far down the hill that you couldn’t see it from the highway. So, all these trucks and cars were flying by and they couldn’t see us.”
“I had a black hoodie with a big white circle on it and all I could think to do is take that hoodie off and try to wave people down. I did that for about 30 minutes and I could not get somebody to stop,” he added.
While all four survived, they sustained major injuries.
HARDY said there was a moment after the bus crash when he thought he was “dead.” (Terry Wyatt)
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One year after the accident, HARDY was hospitalized due to ongoing panic attacks tied to the accident’s aftermath.
“I need to be honest with everyone for a second,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “I’ve been dealing with some serious anxiety since the bus accident last year, and over the last two weeks it has taken control of my life.”
“It’s caused me to suffer many panic attacks, which have landed me in the hospital,” he continued. “I need a moment to focus on me and to make myself better for my wife, family and you, the fans.”
The country star has undergone various forms of therapy since the near-fatal crash. (Keith Griner/Getty Images)
Over the past couple years, HARDY has focused in on his mental health and has participated in several forms of therapy after the accident, including EMDR.
“After this whole experience I’ve got no shame. It was so overwhelming for me that I really just don’t wish that on anybody… It’s more taboo for men to speak out on it and I know that there’s guys out there that are just eating it every day, and that’s not good for you,” he said.
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Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this post.