Thirsty Merc Crew Member Dies In Car Crash, Drummer Seriously Injured

Aussie rockers Thirsty Merc have been involved in a fatal car crash in Victoria, and are mourning the death of a crew member who was killed in the incident, which occurred on the way to a concert. Drummer Mick Skelton was also seriously injured in the accident.

As News Corp Australia reports, the deceased man is believed to be Thirsty Merc’s stage manager. His death is reportedly the result of a road accident at a highway intersection in Streatham which occurred around 2:30pm yesterday.

According to Victoria Police, the accident is believed to have involved a collision between a ute and a van on the Glenelg Highway near Eurambeen-Streatham Road.

Thirsty Merc’s drummer, Mr Skelton, was flown to Alfred Hospital after the incident and went into surgery. He remains in intensive care. The band’s frontman Rai Thistlethwayte, bassist Phil Stack and guitarist Matt Smith are understood to have been travelling in a different vehicle.

The driver of the ute involved in the collision is also being treated at Ballarat hospital, for non-life threatening injuries.

Thirsty Merc were scheduled to perform at Warrnambool venue The Loft on Tuesday night, but cancelled their show. The future of their national tour in support of new album Shifting Gears remains unclear, with the band yet to publicly comment on the fatal accident.

UPDATE 23/09/15 2.35pm: The band have posted the following statement to their Facebook page:

“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.”

Gallery: Thirsty Merc, Martha Marlow – Coogee Diggers, Sydney 23.01.14 / Photos: Peter Coates

With the heaviest of hearts, we share this utterly tragic news. While in transit to our show yesterday, our Stage…

Posted by Thirsty Merc on Tuesday, 22 September 2015