London: British-based Indie pop duo ‘Her’s’ has been killed in a road accident in the United States, where they were on tour, their record label said Friday.
Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading died Wednesday along with manager Trevor Engelbrektson while travelling to a gig in California, said the label, ‘Heist or Hit’.
“It is with overwhelming sadness that we regretfully inform you that Liverpool band Her’s… tragically passed away in a road accident in the early hours of Wednesday, March 27 whilst travelling to a show in Santa Ana, California. We are all heartbroken,” the company said in a statement.
The Indie duo was on their second US tour to promote debut album ‘Invitation to Her’s’.
Fitzpatrick, from northwest England, and Laading, from Norway, met while studying at university in Liverpool. “As humans, they were warm, gentle and hilarious,” the label said in a statement on Facebook, calling them ‘one of the UK’s most loved and upcoming bands. “The band was due to wrap their tour with a gig in Santa Ana, California, having played in Phoenix, Arizona the previous night,” it added.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety had earlier reported that a collision between a pick-up truck and a 15-passenger van had left four people dead early Wednesday. Authorities have not publicly released the victims’ names, but said they were badly burned in the accident.
“We don’t know the exact speeds, but two heavy vehicles, coming into contact with each other at full speed – the impact is huge and devastating,” state trooper Kameron Lee told journalists. “Both vehicles caught fire because of this high impact, and now four people are gone,” he added.
‘Her’s’ began gaining recognition in Britain and the United States after British media cited the duo as ‘ones to watch’, with the BBC promoting them on its new artists platform.
AFP