Chi Cheng, bassist for Sacramento-based Deftones, is in a coma following a November 3 car accident in Santa Clara, CA. The 38-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit at a San Jose hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition according to published reports.
Yesterday (November 4) afternoon, Deftones vocalist and guitarist Chino Moreno confirmed the reports in a note on the band’s official blog. “It deeply saddens me to inform you all that our brother Chi Cheng was involved in a terrible car accident last night,” Moreno wrote, adding that he was on his way to the hospital to meet with friends and family who had already arrived.
“Chi is one of the strongest people I know, and I’m praying that his strength will get him through this,” the Deftones frontman continued. “Please say a prayer for him as well.”
No further information has been released about the nature of Cheng’s injuries.
Deftones recently completed recording their sixth studio album “Eros,” due in spring 2009. The record is a follow-up to 2006’s highly rated release “Saturday Night Wrist.” The band has toured heavily in the past, completing close to 250 shows in the 2006-2007 season. Deftones’s most recent live performance was September 20 at the End of Summer Scorcher in Peoria, AZ.
