'Spirit In Sky' Songwriter Still In Hospital After Sonoma Co. Crash

Sonoma County singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum and another man remain in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital today after being critically injured in a collision between a motorcycle and vehicle west of Santa Rosa on Saturday afternoon.

Greenbaum, 72, of Santa Rosa, known for his huge 1969 hit, “Spirit in the Sky,” was a passenger in a 2002 Subaru Outback driven by 62-year-old Bonita Kay Perea, of Santa Rosa.

The Subaru was traveling east on Occidental Road around 3:20 p.m. Saturday when Perea turned left on Piezzi Road in unincorporated Sonoma County without seeing a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle heading west on Occidental Road, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The front of the motorcycle collided with the right side of the Subaru, killing the motorcyclist, Ihab Usama Halaweh, 20, of Santa Rosa.

Nhmia Mekonnen Kahsay, 20, a passenger on the motorcycle, was critically injured in the crash, according to the CHP. Greenbaum was riding in the right front seat of the Subaru. Perea was not injured. Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Vanessa DeGier said Kahsay was in critical condition today. DeGier said she could not release Greenbaum’s condition at the request of his family.

CHP officials said following the crash that Greenbaum suffered injuries that are considered critical.

--Bay City News