Toby Keith's family has been awarded $2.8 million in a wrongful death lawsuit involving Keith's father, who was killed in a traffic accident in 2001. A jury in McClain County, Okla., concluded that the accident could have been avoided if the owners of a charter-like bus had replaced their brakes after inspectors had told them that they "urgently" need to be fixed. The accident occurred on March 24, 2001, when a pickup driven by Keith's father, H.K. Covel, was sideswiped by another vehicle. Covel's pickup then went across the median of Interstate 35 and into the path of the bus.
Toby on his "Reason for the Season"
Toby Keith, who released his second Christmas album, A Classic Christmas this year, tells Country Weekly that he focuses on the spiritual significance of the yuletide season.
"Other than family, Christmas means one thing — the birth of Jesus," he says. "That's pretty much the whole reason for the season to me." Toby adds that he's not really looking for a special gift under the tree. "I tell everybody not to get me anything, because I've got everything. But if someone gives me something that's practical and doesn't cost a lot — that makes sense with me."
Toby does remember one gift that meant a lot to him as a child. "When I was about 7, I got the coolest bicycle ever — it was gold and had big fat slick about four inches wide on the back."