Australian rock band Thirsty Merc have been involved in a fatal car crash in Victoria, which tragically took the life of stage manager Shane Cooper and seriously injured the band’s touring drummer Mick Skeleton.
According to Victorian Police, the accident involved a collision between an oncoming ute and the band’s van on the Glenelg Highway. Skeleton was flown to Alfred Hospital after the accident and went into surgery, where he still remains in intensive care. The driver of the other vehicle was flown to Ballarat Hospital, and was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The band’s other members Rai Thistlewayte, Phil Stack and Matt Smith were travelling in a different vehicle.
Thirsty Merc were set to perform at The Loft in Warrnambool on Tuesday night, but cancelled their show, with the future of their national tour remaining unclear at this stage. The band took to Facebook earlier today to share the following statement:
“With the heaviest of hearts, we share this utterly tragic news. While in transit to our show yesterday, our Stage Manager, Shane, and Touring Drummer, Mick, were involved in an horrific car accident which killed Shane and seriously injured Mick. The band is absolutely shattered. We have returned to Melbourne to stay near Mick who is in ICU and are rescheduling the rest of this week’s shows. No further decisions have been made and we will let everyone know about future shows as soon as we can. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with Shane and Mick’s Families in this time.”
