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A new Atlanta report has confirmed that former mastodon guitarist and singer Brent Hinds was to blame for the motorcycle accident, which cost him his life on August 20. According to the investigation, Hinds was traveling much faster on his Harley Davidson than the permissible top speed allowed.
The police published the report on September 4. According to this, video recordings of the Memorial Drive SE and Boulevard SE intersection showed that Hinds drove between 63 and 68 miles per hour, about twice as quickly as allowed. “The video clearly shows the accident. Hinds was responsible for the crash,” says the report.
The guitarist was too fast
Original preliminary reports had laid the blame for the driver of a BMW SUV, who is said to have disregarded the right of way when turning left. This indicated that the traffic light was green for them. However, several witnesses unanimously reported that Hinds was traveling extremely quickly. A 911 caller who drove two cars behind the SUV described that he saw Hinds thrown into the air and rotated his motorcycle several times before fell to the ground.
The first incoming police officers found Hinds still breathing, with visible injuries to the head, poor and upper body. He was immediately taken to the Grady Memorial Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Remembrance and reactions
On the weekend after the death of Hinds, a memorial march took place in Atlanta, in which hundreds of fans and musicians: inside took part. Mastodone bandmates Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher were also on site. At a concert in Alaska a few days after the accident, the band also honored the deceased musician on stage.
Kelliher honored his former bank colleagues on Instagram:
Brent Hinds’ career
Hinds has been a lead guitarist and singer at Mastodon since 2000, alongside Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher. With the band he published eight studio albums, including “Remission” (2002) and the Grammy-winning “Emperor of Sand”. The last album “Hushed and Grim” was released in 2021 as a double LP.
In March 2025, Mastodon officially separated from Hinds after 25 years of joint band history. Hinds himself described the separation on social media as involuntary and described his former bandmates as “terrible people”. In addition to mastodon, Hinds was active in bands such as Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, Legend of the Seagullm and Fiend without a face.