I-5 DUI crash killed Colorado musician, sent drummer to hospital in critical condition

A man killed in a suspected DUI crash near Elk Grove on Monday has been identified as the lead singer of a Denver-based band.

A group of Colorado pop-punk musicians was traveling through Northern California when their van was struck and overturned early Monday morning, killing 30-year-old vocalist Colin Mulhern, as confirmed by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.

The van, carrying five Colorado residents and two other passengers, was traveling on northbound I-5 near Elk Grove when a Los Banos woman suspected of driving under the influence struck the trailer from behind, causing the trailer and van to overturn, according to a California Highway Patrol incident report.

The van came to a halt on its roof in the center median, officials say.

Mulhern died at the scene of the accident. Two other passengers were ejected from the vehicle in the collision, and all six surviving passengers were transported to local hospitals for injuries, CHP says.

Mulhern was the vocalist for a Denver-based band called If I Fail, according to the band’s website, which describes the group as pop-punk influenced by metal and hardcore, “from the gutters of Denver.”

Patrick Carney, a drummer for the Colorado band Short Fuse 59, also sustained major injuries in the accident. A fundraising campaign on GoFundMe has been established to help Carney’s family with medical bills. Carney was treated for a coma, according to the GoFundMe page, which had raised more than $11,000 by Tuesday morning.

Short Fuse 59, a hardcore punk group from Denver, performed in Cupertino at the Homestead Bowl & The X Bar on Sunday night, just hours before the collision, according to an event plan on Facebook.

Mulhern was remembered fondly by followers and fellow musicians in Colorado and in the Sacramento area, who posted remembrances on social media.

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 10:06 AM.