Music Vehicular Deaths #2 - D. Boon

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It's not the reason I did this, but as I work my way through this Music Vehicular Deaths countdown, occasionally, an "I didn't know that's how he died" comment will pop up, so hopefully, this is as interesting to you as it is to me. We are at #2 in the series: D. Boon. Born Dennes Dale Boon, D. Boon was the vocalist/guitarist for legendary Southern California punk trio Minutemen until 1985, when, at the age of 27, a van he was in crashed in the Arizona desert. On December 22nd, 1985, D. Boon was riding in a van on Interstate 10 in Arizona. Feeling ill, Boon had lain down in the back of the van to rest, without a seatbelt, when the driver, Linda Kite (Boon's fiancé) lost control. He was thrown from the back door, and died instantly of a broken neck. Kite's sister, Jeannine, was in the passenger seat and suffered permanently disabling injuries. According to Kite (who originally told police she thought she'd fallen asleep at the wheel,) the van's left rear axle broke (a problem with 1979 Dodge vans, she says.) The wheel came off, causing the van to roll 1 3/4 times. Kite claims to have blacked out in mid-air, and came to with a shattered left ankle. (Kite states that she is neither a drinker or drug user and that neither were a factor.) Boon's father, a mechanic, verified the damage and began piecing the accident together, with the police altering the accident report to coincide more with his findings, rather than "asleep at the wheel." Known as an experimental band (their 1983 album, Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat, was one of the first hardcore punk albums to feature a trumpet,) Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EP's prior Boon's death. Their 1984 double album, Double Nickels on the Dime, is widely considered an underground masterpiece. Occasionally, remaining Minutemen Mike Watt and George Hurley (who continued as fIREHOSE) will get together and play Minutemen material in a live setting. In honor of their friend, they refuse to use a guitarist or even call themselves Minutemen. (Info verified by Wikipedia, the Los Angeles Beat)