One week ago, marching band members across the country lost one of their own. Sophie Rinehart, 17, was traveling home with her family after her Finals performance with Castle High School Band at the Bands of America National Championship when their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. Sophie's father, David Rinehart, and grandmother, Ruth Rinehart, were also killed in the accident; Sophie's sister, Josie Rinehart, is in stable condition.
The collision late Saturday night after David Rinehart reportedly struck a deer while driving along the interstate and pulled over on the outside shoulder. Another driver, who was later identified as Mason Hartke, was driving southbound on the interstate but left the southbound lane, colliding with the Rineharts vehicle. Hartke suffered minor injuries and was charged with three counts of driving while intoxicated with a BAC of 0.08 causing death and three counts of reckless homicide.
Castle High School Band issued this statement on their Facebook page stating:
"With incredibly heavy hearts, it saddens us to confirm that the Rinehart family and the Castle Band Family suffered a tragedy on the way home from Indianapolis. David Rinehart, his mother, and Sophie Rinehart were taken from our world in a car accident. Josie is in the hospital in Bloomington.More information will follow throughout the day to our band students and families as we are communicating with the principals, counselors and the Warrick County School people that work on situations like this.Monday beginning of school - There will be counselors who specialize in this type of grief to meet with students.Please be respectful to their family in the upcoming days through social media posts.Please hug, cry, laugh, sing, and pray for each other today..and the next day...and every day....that's what the Rinehart's would want us to do. Mr. Dean and Mr. Eifler"
But with tragedy comes the support from others. High school music programs across the country have reached out to Castle High School to express their condolences. Mason High School Band posted a video honoring the life of Sophie Rinehart. More locally, Sunlake High School Band, from Land O Lakes, Fl, also posted a photo with the hashtag "#weareallcastle", as seen below.
Another musician, Sara Bareilles, also reached out to Castle High School Band over the week. Castle High School Band covered Bareilles's "Gravity" as part of their show for competition. Sophie Rinehart was the lead vocalist for the piece, inspiring Bareilles's to reach out to the band's director saying:
"Dear Tom,
I received word about the tragedy involving one of your students, Sophie, and her family. I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. It is truly gut-wrenching to imagine that night. I can only imagine the heartbreak of the rest of her family and her classmates, band mates, and teachers like you. To hear my song Gravity, sang and played so beautifully and with so much heart by such a talented group of young people was a gift to me and I will remember hearing and watching that video forever. Thank you for that. I don't honestly know how to make sense of life sometimes, and have to put my faith in God to reveal how someone can move forward through something like this. But Sophie was truly a beautiful light and she shines even still. I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you all the love and healing and faith I can muster. Please share my condolences with your band and encourage them to keep music alive through this very challenging time. I believe it is one of the great healers.
Love and light,
Sara Bareilles"
Links to Memorial videos below:
Mason High School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DCs6sFMlc
Music for All: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6WFfawZHMk
