George Strait’s longtime drummer killed in car wreck

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The longtime drummer for country music star George Strait has been killed in a car wreck outside of Nashville.

Strait spokeswoman Ebie McFarland confirmed 59-year-old Michael A. Kennedy of Baxter, Tennessee, died Friday.

A report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Kennedy was driving on Interstate 40 in Wilson County on Friday afternoon when he merged into another lane. Kennedy’s vehicle collided with a tractor trailer, which then hit a pickup truck. No one else was injured.

Authorities say Kennedy was not wearing a seatbelt, but it likely would not have made a difference.