Newly surfaced video footage of the aftermath of Gene Simmons‘s recent car crash reveals the dramatic reality of the incident, showing the KISS co-founder’s SUV smashed into a parked truck in a collision that may have prevented his vehicle from going over a cliff. The footage, which emerged late last night, stands in stark contrast to Simmons‘ own lighthearted description of the event as a “slight fender bender.”
The video, obtained by TMZ, shows the scene on the Pacific Coast Highway following the October 7 accident. Simmons‘ large Lincoln Navigator is seen pushed up against a heavily damaged parked truck, whose hood is completely crumpled. The positioning of the vehicles on the side of the highway suggests that the collision with the truck was the only thing that stopped Simmons‘ SUV from going over the bluff and onto the beach below.
The single-vehicle accident occurred after the 76-year-old rocker reportedly fainted or passed out behind the wheel, causing him to veer across several lanes of traffic before the collision. His wife, Shannon Tweed, later told reporters that her husband was dehydrated and had recently had his medication adjusted, which may have contributed to the episode.
Despite the severity suggested by the new footage and the fact he was hospitalized for evaluation, Simmons himself downplayed the incident in a self-deprecating social media post on October 9.
“Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes. I’m completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us who are horrible drivers. And that’s me. All is well,” he wrote at the time.
The new video seems to support the more serious concerns expressed by his family and bandmates. KISS frontman Paul Stanley reportedly called it a “miracle” that Simmons survived. The incident comes just a month before KISS is scheduled to host their massive “KISS Army Storms Vegas” 50th-anniversary fan event in Las Vegas from November 14-16, an event he is still expected to attend.
