Family Mourns Lindsey Lagestee, Country Singer Who Was Hit, Killed By Car Outside Mount Greenwood Concert Hall
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dixie Crush was a country band with a big following in the Chicago area, and now the band has lost its lead singer after a freak accident on the city's Far Southwest Side.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reported, Lindsey Lagestee, 25, was doing what she loved - entertaining on stage. But on Valentine's Day, the Dixie Crush lead singer's voice fell silent when she was struck by a driver outside a Mount Greenwood concert hall.
Lagestee had just had dinner with her boyfriend, and was headed for a 9 p.m. show at the Firewater Saloon, 3908 W. 111th St.
But she never made it inside, after an elderly man struck her with his vehicle.
"She got out of her car and was in the street and he hit her," said Lindsey's mother, Linda Lagestee. "That's all I know."
Linda Lagestee was in the saloon waiting for her daughter to arrive when she saw something outside.
"I was watching an ambulance pass by the front window and I thought, 'Oh my God, I hope nothing happened,'" she said.
When her normally punctual 25-year-old didn't show up, people inside the bar went to check on the ambulance now parked down the block.
Minutes later came the worst moment of the mother's life.
"There were two police at the door looking for me," Linda Lagestee said.
The next few hours were kind of a blur. One minute, she was in the bar waiting for her daughter, the next she was in the hospital with her daughter horrifically injured.
"I think that we were all pretty much in shock for about two days," she said. "It just didn't seem real."
Sadly, it was. And Lindsey never regained consciousness. After hanging on for a few days, the young doctor of pharmacy lost her life.
"All the years of schooling and everything, she got to a point where she might be able to enjoy life – maybe get married, have babies, you know," Linda Lagestee said. "And now that's all gone."
Now, Linda says Lindsey will live on in her heart and in her recordings.
"I'll just listen to her all day," Linda Lagestee said.
She said it helps knowing Lindsey died doing what she loved. And while Dixie Crush had a loyal following, they hadn't yet made it big.
And somehow her mom says that seems appropriate.
"That was the greatest part of that band was getting off of the stage and talking to people," Linda Lagestee said. "When you're big, you can't do that."
And it was the same way at the pharmacy where Lindsey worked. She didn't want to be in the back managing - she wanted to out front with her customers.
"She wanted to be out there talking saving their lives," Linda Lagestee said.
She said she wanted her daughter to be remembered "for her kind heart, her beautiful voice, and her big smile."
Lindsey Lagestee was laid to rest on Saturday. Many of the mourners in attendance were fans of Dixie Crush who felt like they had lost a friend.
The man who struck and injured Lindsey did not leave the scene of the crash. So far, no tickets have been issued.