2 Members of Tower of Power Seriously Injured by Train in Oakland - SFGate
The best rhythm section of the 70’s are both in the hospital.
Two members of longtime Oakland rhythm and blues band Tower of Power were hit by a train in Oakland near Jack London Square on Thursday night minutes before a scheduled show at Yoshi’s.
Longtime drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc Van Wageningen were struck by an Amtrak train passing outside the popular venue shortly before their show that was scheduled for 8 p.m., said Jeremy Westby, a publicist for the group, which has been performing since the late 1960s.
Both men were taken to the hospital in critical condition after the accident, said Sgt. Aaron Smith of the Oakland Police Department. A group of four people tried to cross the tracks — while the warning guard arms were still down — toward Yoshi’s after a freight train slowly chugged by, Smith said.
But the pedestrians didn’t see the Amtrak train traveling about 25 mph from the opposite direction on another track, he said. Two were able to jump out of the way, but Garibaldi and Van Wageningen were not.
Both men were rushed to nearby Highland Hospital in critical condition, Smith said. Both regained consciousness at the hospital, Westby said.
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