Tim Kelly, guitarist for CMC Recording Artists Slaughter, died
from injuries suffered in a collision at 6:30 PM on Thursday,
February 5, 1998 on a remote highway in Arizona. Kelly, 34, was
driving en route to Kingman, Arizona from Baghdad, Arizona on
State Route 96 when an 18-wheel tractor trailer jacknifed and collided
with the left front side of his vehicle at the 6.3 marker on
the winding road.
According to Sgt. Bob Cencelewski of the Arizona Highway Patrol, Kelly
was not killed instantly. Along with five other people in
another car also hit by the truck, Kelly was transported by ambulance
to the Baghdad, Arizona Health Clinic, in order to be
stabilized and airlifted to a trauma center, but succumbed to massive
head injuries at the facility. The five survivors were
successfully transported by helicopter for further medical treatment.
Slaughter, which has released five albums since 1990 and has had the
same lineup and toured incessantly since its inception,
supported Alice Cooper last summer and finished a club and theater
headlining tour in the fall. Kelly’s last appearances with the
band were a radio performance on Mancow’s morning radio show in Chicago,
Illinois on Nov. 14, 1997 and a concert at Harpo’s
in Detroit, Michigan on Nov. 15, 1997. At the time of his death, Kelly
had completed a minor repair on a live track, “Rock the
World,” for Slaughter’s forthcoming live album. This record, as yet
untitled, will contain an enhanced-CD program and will serve
as a musical and visual tribute via footage and photographs and be
dedicated to Kelly’s memory.
Slaughter is slated to take part in the Rock Never Stops tour with Warrant,
Quiet Riot, Firehouse, and L.A. Guns from mid-May
through the summer. Whether Kelly’s death will affect the band’s
participation has not been determined at this point, but the
surviving members are leaning towards continuing to perform and carry
on, as they believe Kelly would have wanted.
“He was an incredible trooper and made it through the highest of the
highs and lowest of the lows in his life and career,” says
bassist Dana Strum. “While we’re obviously in shock, at first thought
none of us believe he would want anything but to have us
keep the upbeat and positive message of Slaughter’s music out there
in the world.”
Kelly, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, resided in Henderson,
Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, which proudly honored
Slaughter’s platinum success with the keys to the city in November,
1991, proclaiming Slaughter Day. Kelly was active in
community service, particularly in reaching out to troubled youth with
the positive message rock and roll can bring.
BAGDAD, Ariz. (AP) -- The guitarist for the rock
band Slaughter was killed when his car was struck
by a tractor-trailer on Highway 96 in northwest
Arizona.
Timothy Kelly, 34, of Henderson, Nev., died of
massive head injuries.
The 18-wheeler crossed the center line near
Bagdad, a small community west of Prescott, at 6:30
p.m. Thursday and struck Kelly's car.
His car struck a third car, went off the road and
rolled, said Pete Borquez, spokesman for the state
Department of Public Safety.
Slaughter, which has released five albums since
1990, finished its latest tour last fall. The band has a
live LP scheduled for release this spring and was
planning another tour to start in mid-May.
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© 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.
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"We're obviously in shock," Slaughter bassist Dana
Strum said in a statement. "At first thought, none
of us
believed he would want anything but to have us keep
the upbeat and positive message of Slaughter's music
out there in the world." The band hasn't yet decided
how Kelly's
death will affect their participation in the upcoming
Rock Never Stops
tour, but they're leaning towards playing. The tour,
which kicks off in
May, features Warrant, Quiet Riot, Firehouse, and
L.A. Guns.
Slaughter was named 1990's Best New Heavy Metal
Band at the
American Music Awards for their debut album, Stick
It to Ya. The
band has since released five albums, the most recent
of which,
Revolution, came out last year.
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© 1997 Starwave Corporation All rights reserved.
Do
not duplicate or redistribute in any form.
Details are still sketchy, but the Arizona Highway Patrol told the sources
that Kelly was not
killed instantly. The musician was taken by ambulance to the Baghdad, Arizona
Health
Clinic, in order to be stabilized and airlifted to a trauma center, but
he succumbed to
massive head injuries while still at the clinic.
Kelly was apparently travelling alone at the time, but a second car carrying
five people was
also struck by the 18-wheeler. All five were successfully transported to
the trauma center
for treatment.
The accident happened at around 6:30 PM local time as Kelly was travelling
from
Kingman, Arizona to Baghdad, Arizona on State Route 96. The purpose of
his trip is not
clear. Kelly, an east coast native, lived in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb
of Las Vegas.
The band has recorded five albums since 1990 and has had the same line-up
since its
inception: Kelly, Mark Slaughter (vocals, guitar, piano), Dana Strum (bass),
and drummer
Blas Elias.
Slaughter toured with Alice Cooper last summer and headlined their own
tour of clubs and
theaters last fall. Their last appearance with Kelly was a live show at
Harpo's in Detroit,
Michigan on Nov. 15, 1997, which had been preceded by a radio performance
on
Mancow's morning radio show in Chicago the day before.
The band is currently slated to take part in the Rock Never Stops tour
with Warrant, Quiet
Riot, Firehouse, and L.A. Guns, scheduled to run from mid-May through the
summer.
While a final decision has yet to be made, the band they will most likely
continue on without
Kelly.
"He was an incredible trooper and made it through the highest of the highs
and lowest of
the lows in his life and career," Dana Strum said in a statement. "While
we're obviously in
shock, at first thought none of us believe he would want anything but to
have us keep the
upbeat and positive message of Slaughter's music out there in the world."
Slaughter were formed by Mark Slaughter and Strum after the pair left Vinnie
Vincent's
band and recruited friends Kelly and Elias. They scored an immediate hit
with their first
album "Stick It To Ya" on Chrysalis in 1990. The album, helped by massive
touring
including an extensive stint opening for Kiss, went gold within two months
of its release and
spawned two hit singles, "Up All Night" and "Fly To The Angels." Three
months later,
spurred on by the success of the videos for those songs, the album was
certified platinum.
Later that year the band won an American Music Award for Best New Heavy
Metal
Band.
Slaughter, now signed to the CMC label, was working on a live album at
the time of Kelly's
death. Kelly had just completed a minor repair on the track, "Rock the
World." The sources
report that the as yet untitled record will contain an enhanced-CD program
and will now
serve as an audio and visual tribute to Kelly's memory.
Metal band
Slaughter's guitarist,
Tim Kelly, 34, died
Thursday in Arizona of massive head injuries after his car
collided with a jackknifed tractor trailer. On Friday, Kelly's
bandmates pledged to dedicate a forthcoming live album
to the guitarist's memory ...