dead musicians - bicyclists struck by automobiles

NICO - singer with the Velvet Underground and sometime muse to Bob Dylan

For over twenty years, Nico was heroin dependent. Biographer Richard Witts speculated that the habit was caused by her traumatic experiences of war and of being an illegitimate child.

In his book Nico—Songs They Never Play on the Radio, James Young, a member of her band in the 80's, recalls many examples of Nico's fiendish behaviour due to the addiction. Just before her death, she had managed to kick the habit and had embarked on a regime of exercise and healthy eating.

On July 18, 1988, the musician was injured riding her bicycle while on holiday with her son, Ari, in her favourite haunt of previous years, Ibiza, Spain. She had a minor heart attack while riding her bicycle and hit her head as she fell. A passer-by taxi driver found her unconscious, but had difficulty getting her admitted to local hospitals. She was incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from exposure, and died the next day. X-rays later revealed severe bleeding in her brain as the cause of death.

She was buried in her mother's plot in Grunewald Forest Cemetery in Berlin. A few friends played "Mütterlein", a song from Desertshore, on a cassette recorder, at her funeral.


Mary Hansen - member of Stereolab

Mary Hansen (November 1, 1966 - December 9, 2002) was guitarist and singer with Stereolab.

Born in Maryborough near Brisbane in Australia, Hansen moved to London in the late 1980s and became a backing singer with the Essex-based indie band, The Wolfhounds.
She met Stereolab founder Tim Gane when the Wolfhounds played with his band McCarthy, and joined Stereolab as second vocalist in 1992. She also played guitar, as well as percussion and keyboards, and occasionally sang lead vocals.

Hansen was struck by a truck and killed while riding her bicycle in London, December 9, 2002. She was 36-years-old.

In 2004, Hybird, an album of some of Hansen's music, was released posthumously. This album, which also featured her artwork, contained three tracks which had been released in limited editions before her death, and a final track which was finished by Andy Ramsay of Stereolab.

Brent Liles - bass player with both Social Distortion and Agent Orange

Former Social Distortion and Agent Orange bassist Brent Liles was killed when his bicycle was struck by a large truck in January 2007.

Liles was entering the crosswalk at the Orange Freeway in Placentia, California when the tractor-trailer turned right on a green light on to an on-ramp, accelerated and hit the musician. The 43-year-old Liles was pronounced dead at the scene, but it took two days to identify him. The accident is being investigated, but no charges have been laid against the trucker at this point.

Liles joined Social Distortion in 1981 and played on the Orange County punkabilly band's critically-acclaimed and influential "Mommy's Little Monster" debut album two years later. He was featured prominently in the "Another State Of Mind" documentary that examined the early struggles of Social Distortion and fellow punk bands Youth Brigade and Minor Threat as they toured across the U.S. Liles became frustrated with the Mike Ness-fronted band's lack of commercial achievement and, along with drummer Derek O'Brien, quit in the middle of a show on New Year's Eve as 1983 turned into 1984. Liles went on to play with a number of other SoCal punk bands, with Agent Orange being the most prominent.