The Cooters bass guitarist and singer, Newt Rayburn (aka Neuter Cooter), was involved in a near head-on collision while traveling in The Cooters van Tuesday, October 4, 2005. The crash occurred at approximately 9:10 am in the Enterprise community of Union County, Mississippi. Newt was traveling to New Albany to design the sports publication Rebel Yell magazine for the New Albany Gazette newspaper. The crash occurred on Highway 30 when The Cooters van was struck by an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera as the Ciera pulled into oncoming traffic, right in front of the van. Joseph Robbins, 79, of Etta, Mississippi was the driver of the Oldsmobile and was treated on the scene by paramedics from New Albany's Baptist Memorial Hospital before being transported by helicopter to the medical center in Tupelo. Newt was taken to New Albany's Baptist Memorial Hospital by ambulance were he stayed for several hours. Newt had his seat belt on and most of his pain surrounds his collarbone, shoulder, chest, arms, and hand. He suffered a minor fracture in his hand and many bruises, cuts and scrapes. The driver of the other vehicle was not wearing his seat belt, and we understand that Mr. Robbins passed away Wednesday morning. Newt is now recovering in Oxford and appreciates everyone who has called or written. "It was horrific and traumatic, but despite all the pain I'm in, I feel very fortunate to be alive." said Newt. The Cooters van was destroyed in the accident. The damage done to it is mind-boggling. Although we have lost our greatest tour vehicle ever, we realize that it saved Newt's life. The Cooters are very sorry to hear of Mr. Robbin's passing. We aren't sure what we're going to travel in right now, but all shows will go on and none will be cancelled. Newt will be able to recover and heal and The Cooters will figure out a way to travel to all shows. Sorry for the crass commercialism, but if you don't have our new album, "Punk Metal," or your ready to get a head start on Christmas presents, now would be a really great time to buy some Cooters merchandise from our website, www.TheCooters.com as medical bills and a replacement van are going to cost a lot of money.