What started as a simple plan for a family night out turned into an unexpected act of fate that likely saved a Virginia family’s lives.
David and Kristin McKee of Goodview, Virginia, had long planned to take their 14-year-old daughter to see METALLICA perform at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg on May 7. With excitement building, the family decided to turn in early on the night of May 6. They didn’t realize at the time that this small decision would become a pivotal factor in their survival.
In the stillness of the early morning, disaster struck. A pickup truck, driven by a motorist later charged with driving under the influence, veered off the road and crashed directly into the front of the McKees’ house. The vehicle tore through the very area where the family would have been relaxing if they had stayed up late, as they often did. Thankfully, they were all asleep in their bedrooms at the time.
Kristin McKee recalled the chilling moment in an interview with WDBJ7, saying, “[I asked David,] ‘Do you wanna sit up?’ And he was like, ‘Nah, I think I just wanna go on to bed.’ I said, ‘I’ll go on to bed too.’ Then, just a few hours later, we heard a loud explosion, glass shattered. It was just madness from that point on.”
She reflected on how close they came to disaster, adding, “We were so fortunate that, that night, my daughter could have walked down that hallway and found us in the rubble. I thank God every day, and METALLICA, for saving us.”
Despite extensive damage to their home, the McKee family escaped without injuries. They credit their decision to attend the METALLICA concert—and their choice to go to bed early the night before—for sparing their lives.
For the McKees, what was supposed to be just another concert became a powerful reminder of how life can change in an instant—and how a love for music might just have given them a second chance.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.