Police in Atlanta have concluded that late Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds was at fault for the auto accident that led to his death last month.
In an updated police report issued Thursday, Sept. 4, authorities said Hinds was “traveling between 63 and 68” miles per hour when his motorcycle collided with an SUV in the middle of an intersection. The posted speed limit at the intersection, police noted, is 35 mph.
In the initial accident report, police said the driver of the SUV may have failed to yield while making a left turn. And there are still some discrepancies over the traffic signal at the time of the accident: The SUV driver has said the light was green, but one witness said it was red. Still, both eyewitnesses noted that Hinds was driving fast when the accident occurred, further leading police to rule he was “at fault for the crash.”
The accident occurred around 11:35 p.m. on Aug. 20. When police arrived, an officer said he found Hinds still “breathing and moving with visible injuries to his head, arms, and torso.” The musician was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Hinds co-founded Mastodon in 2000 with bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. The group released eight albums together over the next two decades, winning a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2018 for their song “Sultan’s Curse.” This past March, however, Mastodon announced they were parting ways with Hinds, with the guitarist later claiming he was kicked out of the band.
After Hinds’ death, Mastodon paid tribute to the guitarist during their show at the Alaska State Fair. “We loved him so, so, so very much,” Dailor said onstage. “And we had the ups and downs of a 25-year relationship, you know what I mean? It’s not always perfect, it’s not always amazing, but we were brothers to the end.”
