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| The 30-year-old lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Snot was killed Friday as he attempted to drive across Highway 101 in this seaside community, the third fatality along that dangerous stretch of highway in the last year.
James Lynn Strait died instantly after his 1992 Ford Tempo was broadsided by a southbound full-size pickup truck about noon, officers said. Strait's small bulldog, who was sitting in the back seat, also perished. Pickup driver David Redderson, 20, suffered a neck injury and was treated at Saint Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara and released, a nursing supervisor said.
Redderson, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, had been on his way to Ventura to spend the holidays with family, said his brother, who drove to the crash site about eight miles north of Ventura. "By the time he [Redderson] went to apply the brakes, it was too late," California Highway Patrol OfficerGeorge Orozco said. Visitors and Mussel Shoals residents gain access to northbound Highway 101 by crossing against southbound traffic.
Strait, a Santa Barbara resident, was crossing the highway after visiting his girlfriend in the community. Strait apparently pulled into the path of the truck, which was going about 65 mph. The impact sent Strait's car spinning into the center divider where it stopped, Orozco said. The truck skidded sideways and overturned, coming to rest on the driver's side near the center divider. A group of passing motorists stopped and pulled Redderson from the wreckage, Ventura County Fire Capt. Michael Wickham said. Both drivers were wearing seat belts, Orozco said. Although no evidence of drug or alcohol use was found, Chief Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said toxicology tests would be conducted on Strait. An autopsy was scheduled today. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Strait joined the Santa Barbara-based band Snot after playing bass in a punk band called Lethal Dose. Snot,known for its loud, hard rock sound, performed in several venues in Los Angeles and Ventura before being signed to a Geffen Records contract in June 1996. Eleven months later, the group's debut CD, "Get Some," was released.
Strait apparently divided his time between the homes of his parents, James and Marie Strait, who live in Santa Barbara and are separated, and the residences of several band members. A family friend told officers that Strait had been planning to visit a friend in Los Angeles Friday. A backpack filled with his clothing was found in his back seat. Debris from the wreckage littered the center divider as well as the highway, which is two lanes in each direction. One lane in each direction was closed for about four hours, causing a four-mile traffic backup both north and southbound.
The hard rock community suffered a great loss with the tragic dath of Lynn Strait, December 11, 1998. The Snot frontman may have received national attention with his headline-stealing antics on last summer's OzzFest, but his true legacy will be the esteemed place held in the hearts of the friends, bands and fans that he came into contact with throughout his life. Around the world, word of the fatal, mid-day car accident that took his life shook those that were close to him--from his Santa Barbara, CA. home, where bandmates mourned his loss, stating that the band would not continue as Snot without him, to the East Coast, where a somber Sevendust set included a dedication of "Prayer" to the 30-year-old singer, and even in Europe, where sullen mood beset the Soulfly camp with news of their lost tribe member. Also killed in the crash was Strait's dog, Dobbs, who was teh band mascot, and on the cover of their Geffen debut "Get Some." Despite recent lineup changes, Snot was writing material for a mid-year release at the time of the accident. Strait is survived by his mother, two sisters, and a brother.
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